An outbreak of an unidentified "mystery" disease


http://www.ecanadanow.com/science/health/2006/10/14/mystery-disease-kills-at-least-8-in-far-west-nepal/


An outbreak of an unidentified "mystery" disease



Kathmandu (dpa) - An outbreak of an unidentified "mystery" disease
in a remote village claimed eight lives including four children in far
west Nepal in the past two weeks, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The English language daily Kathmandu Post said that the outbreak of the
disease in Belapur village in Dadeldhura district, about 525 kilometres
west of the capital, created "lots of problems" for the villagers
there and in adjoining villages, as over 400 people were reported sick
with the disease.

Dadeldhura district in far west Nepal is one of the most remote areas
of the Himalayan kingdom, and successive governments in Kathmandu have
been accused of neglecting far west Nepal districts in their
development plans.

Kathmandu Post reported that there were no health workers to staff the
village health post in Belapur village, and even the district hospital
at the district headquarters in Dadeldhura was without a doctor.

According to the newspaper, those who died showed "strange
symptoms" that included headaches and respiratory problems.

Quoting local people, the newspaper reported that the victims died
"wherever they caught the deadly disease."

"Some died while working in the farms, while others fell dead while
grazing cattle," the newspaper reported.

The newspaper quoted Dr Shuvesh Raj Kayastha, chief of the Mahakali
Zonal hospital in Mahendranagar, about 80 kilometres south of
Dadeldhura, as saying that the disease could be a viral infection. He
feared that the disease could be similar to severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS).

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