JHAPA, Oct 15: Dengue fever is fast spreading in Jhapa amid the lack of prevention and control measures. The infection is at its peak in Birtamod, Damak and Mechinagar. The District Public Office (DPO) and municipality offices have expressed sorry over the matter while informing that there is no budget to take necessary steps to bring the disease under control. Only in Birtamod, the government has taken some action to combat the deadly virus.
“We have been doing necessary coordination with all stakeholders to keep it under control. But it is getting serious,” said Dhruba Kumar Shivakoti, chief of Birtamod municipality. “The DPO has provided technical support. We have started a campaign against the disease,” he said.
Patients' flow to the Birtamod hospital has dramatically grown in the last few days. While some have already been infected by dengue, many are coming to the hospital to be tested, hospital staffs said. Over 40 patients are currently in the hospital receiving treatment for the fever.
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In Birtamod, the municipality office has started cleanliness drives at prime locations. However, nothing such has been done in Mechinagar. The number of people infected by dengue fever has constantly risen in Dhulabari, Jyamiri and Kandbhitta, among other areas.
According to chief of the DPO, Madhusudan Koirala, there is no budget to address the problem. “We don't have the budget to take any kind of step. We are in a sorry state,” he said, adding, “We are now going to bring the people together, take their help and do something.”
Koirala further stated that the public health office will provide technical support “if the municipalities concerned ask for it.”
According to Koirala, his office has however been carrying out 'surveillance' at several hospitals. In Kankai Municipality, two people were freshly detected with dengue fever.
In Jhapa, patients of dengue fever were spotted as early as two months ago. The patients from Jhapa have been receiving treatment in hospitals in and even outside Jhapa, according to sources.
“The number of dengue fever patients is rising. But the government has not taken it seriously,” said Depen Luintel of Jyamirgadhi village.
Cleanliness is the first condition for the control of the disease. Destruction of the larva of the mosquitoes that carry the virus is a must. However, there are filth and dirt in several places and people are not aware. According to Luintel, the government's apathy towards the issue is going to cost the public dearly. “If the government had intervened earlier, the disease would not have spread this much. Even now, the authority is not serious. Many more people will fall sick,” he stated.
