Viral fever, dengue, and scrub typhus cases rise sharply in Palpa

In Palpa, the number of patients with viral fever, scrub typhus, and dengue infections has increased in the last two weeks.

At Palpa Hospital in the district headquarters, many patients come for treatment of viral fever, which is common in this season. Every day, around 350 to 500 patients visit the hospital. About 100 of them have viral fever, said Dr. Bibek Paudel. He added that more patients come after the month of Saun (mid-July to mid-August). “The symptoms look like dengue and scrub typhus,” he said, “but only a few test positive for dengue and scrub typhus.” Some patients admitted to the hospital have fever as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

The hospital can admit 15 to 20 patients at a time. Other patients are given medicine and sent home or referred to other hospitals, said Dr. Rajendra Paudel. Many patients with seasonal flu are admitted for treatment. “Many patients have long-lasting fever that does not get better quickly,” he said.

At United Mission Hospital in Bhusal Danda, Tansen, more patients with viral fever have come for treatment since Saun started. Dengue and scrub typhus patients have also increased. Doctors said that out of 300 patients, about 40 to 50 have viral fever.

Lumbini Medical College also has many patients coming with viral fever. According to Matron Shikha Pahari, about 20% of patients who come to the emergency department have viral fever.

Rampur Hospital has also seen an increase in viral fever patients. The health office of Palpa reported that dengue infection, which was earlier seen in small numbers, has sharply increased in the last two weeks. According to Madhusudan Bhattarai, information officer of Palpa health office, from mid-January to late July, the number of dengue patients has risen from a few cases to 176 by the second week of Saun.

Last year, Palpa had 462 dengue patients. Most of these patients were treated at United Mission Hospital. This year also, many dengue patients are at Mission Hospital. In the last fiscal year, the hospital treated 423 dengue positive patients. By the last week of Ashar (mid-July), the hospital had 423 positive scrub typhus cases, with 259 admitted for treatment.

The number of scrub typhus patients has also increased at Mission Hospital. Two weeks ago, it was hard to find beds at Palpa Hospital, but now almost all beds are full. The Palpa Health Office said that dengue and scrub typhus cases usually increase in Ashar and Shrawan months. Last year, there were 269 scrub typhus patients, and this year, by the second week of Saun, there are already 166 patients.