Kala azar patients have been found in Baitadi.
A 37-year-old woman of Gobada of Dogadakedar Municipality-5 of the district has been diagnosed with kala-azar. While undergoing treatment in Dhangadhi, the woman was diagnosed with kala-azar, said Public Health Inspector at the Health Office, Baitadi, Bhuwan Prasad Joshi. According to him, after Kalazar was confirmed, those who were in contact with the woman have been tested.
He said, "As per the government's policy of collecting samples from at least 15 people who are in contact with the virus if any person is found to be infected with kala-azar, we have collected and tested 21 people from nearby areas." The health office has deployed health workers in the village to test the kala-azar of the locals. Public Health Inspector Joshi said that the reports of all those tested by collecting samples were negative.
Other people in the community have also been tested for kala-azar. The health office has stated that there is no kala-azar in the community after the test was negative. A blood test shows that there is no kala-azar. Symptoms of kala-azar include headache, fever, various skin infections, weight loss, fatigue, and anemia.
Kala-azar is a contagious disease caused by a type of sandfly. The beetle that bites the patient transmits the disease to the healthy person. Kala-azar is a contagious disease transmitted to humans by female beetles infected with Lismania. According to health workers, the symptoms appear within one to four months of being bitten by a beetle.
To avoid this disease, the doctor suggests keeping the house clean, using sleeping bags, and covering the hands and feet while sitting outside the house in the evening.
READ ALSO: