Himalayan News Service
KATHMANDU: Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital in Teku doesn’t have even a single rapid diagnostic kit to test for dengue at a time when an outbreak of the disease looms large in the country.
During Dashain alone, around 200 dengue cases were referred to Sukraraj Hospital and more than 20 patients were admitted. At present, two severe cases are being treated there.
The disease has been diagnosed in 24 districts this year in the Tarai and patients being treated at the hospital are mainly from Butwal, Birgunj and Bara.
Dr Basu Dev Pandey, virologist at Teku Hospital said the hospital was unable to conduct rapid tests. “We can’t also test for the type of dengue because the hospital lacks the Polymerase Chain
Reaction testing kit,” said
Pandey adding that Elisa test, which the hospital conducts, takes more than a week to confirm the disease.
Dengue is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. Some symptoms are high fever, severe headache and pains in the joints, behind the eyes, in the muscles, nausea, rash and vomiting informed Pandey.
“The government should mobilise the only six doctors who have received special training from WHO, to respond to the disease immediately,” said Dr Pandey.
The result of a serological study of dengue Infection 2007 identified Bardiya as high risk district — 64.10 per cent — followed by Biratnagar and Hetauda where the dengue risk is 47.5 per cent and 35.29 per cent respectively.
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