BAJURA, May 5: One person has died and several others affected by viral fever in Bajura district.
The disease is spreading in Kyudi and Padi of Himali Rural Municipality-5 of Bajura district since a week.
Chanchakala Budha, 55, of Kyudi died of the fever on Wednesday. It has been learnt that the fever spread from the neighboring Tanjakot Rural Municipality of Humla.
Ashok Singh, chief of the District Health Office, Bajura informed Republica that dozens of people have been affected in the village. Villagers are in panic as the fever has started affecting more people every passing day.
Common cold, headache, fever are some of the common symptoms that most patients have shown. According to the DHO, change in weather has led to spreading of the viral fever in the villages. In Tanjakot, 10 people are down with viral fever. Especially the elderly people and children have been affected by the disease. According to the locals, if not provided with timely treatment, people can easily lose their life to this illness.
A team led by Dhan Bahadur Fadera, chief of Rugin Health Post, has been providing treatment to the patients after it started engulfing the whole village. So far, more than 93 people have been treated in Kyudi alone. However, the health workers are finding it hard to bring the disease under control. Himali Rural Municipality has urged at least one Auxilary Health Worker (AHW) and a health worker in both villages until life returns to normalcy.
'Viral fever' claims two lives, over 250 infected
According to the DHO, another team of health workers will be deployed if situation worsens further. Govinda Malla, chairperson of Himali Rural Municipality said preparations are underway to deploy another team of health workers in Kyudi.
As per the DHO, the condition of two more patients is critical in Padi. Dharmadatta Budha, health coordinator of the rural municipality informed Republica that in order to save the lives of the affected people, a team of three health workers has been deployed in Padi.
Emergency teams ready to visit viral fever-hit districts: EDCD
KATHMANDU, May 5: The Epidemiology and Diseases Control Division (EDCD) has said it is well aware of the viral fever spreading in some districts and is ready to go there in case of an outbreak.
According to EDCD officials, the seasonal viral fever has gripped some hill districts including Gulmi, Bajura and Dang, claiming one life in Bajura.
Along with the viral fever, people in Gulmi are also affected by diarrhea. Shambhu Prasad Jnawali, chief of the Disease Surveillance and Research Section of EDCD, said that they are ready to move to the districts in case of emergency.
“In the wake of the viral fever spreading in the far-flung districts, we have kept our staffers on the standby,” he added.
Viral fever spreads through contaminated water and air, according to the EDCD. Once humans are infected, it transfers from one person to another. However, it is not communicated from animals to human beings.
The disease mostly affects elderly people and children. “If it is treated in time, it is not fatal,” said Jnawali. “However, it is a problem for people with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, lungs problems, kidney failure, and those who smoke and consume alcohol,” he added.
Its treatment is simple and available in all local bodies, said the EDCD officials. “Taking rest, hot water and warm food helps subside the disease,” said Jnawali. “Taking paracetamol is advisable,” he added. “There is no shortage of medicine for the viral fever in the country.”
Jnawali further said that the local bodies are given the authority to handle the case at the local levels. “There are already health workers in the local units. We need not go there for minor problems.”
Though the government officials claimed that there is no shortage of medicine, several local bodies have been facing shortage of medicines such as paracetamol tablets. On the other hand, the required health workers are not easily available in many local bodies.
