Health authorities in Nepal have reported a dengue outbreak in Anbukhaireni municipality, Tanahun district. In just one month, 900 positive cases have been reported in one of the hospital wards.
Currently, forty-five patients are receiving treatment. The Anbukhaireni hospital only has 15 beds available.
The actual number of dengue cases could be higher, as people with mild symptoms are not getting tested and are staying at home. Around two dozen seriously ill patients have been sent to Chitwan, Pokhara, and Kathmandu for additional treatment.
So far, 2 people have died, and 3,755 have tested positive for the dengue virus in the country, which has spread to 74 districts. The real number of infections could be several times higher, as the government’s case reporting system is not very effective, and more than 80% of cases are asymptomatic. Data provided by the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division shows that only 715 people have tested positive for the virus in Tanahun, much less than what the rural municipality reports.
Dengue cases could increase in the coming days due to the ongoing heavy rains across the country, and the post-monsoon season, considered the main dengue season, has not yet begun.
Nepal reported its first dengue case in a foreigner in 2004 in the Chitwan district. Since then, an increasing number of dengue infections, including significant outbreaks, have been recorded in many districts. At least 20 people died, and more than 52,000 were infected by the virus, which had spread to all 77 districts in 2023.
In 2022, a total of 88 people died, and more than 54,000 were infected with the virus nationwide. During that period, hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley were overwhelmed with dengue patients, and pharmacies ran out of paracetamol, the most commonly used medication to treat fever.
In 2019, the disease killed at least 6 people, and more than 16,000 were hospitalized across the country. The virus had spread to 68 districts at that time.
