Malaria Cases Detected in Chitwan District

Chitwan. In the current fiscal year, 13 cases of malaria have been found in the district. Infection was confirmed during the testing of samples from 3,093 people who came for treatment with suspicion of malaria infection.

According to Ram KC, kit controller at the Public Health Office, those found infected have returned from foreign employment. Malaria is caused by the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito. Symptoms include fever that persists or recurs every other day, severe headache, vomiting, chills, shivering, and sweating that reduces the fever. All infected individuals are patients who came from abroad.

Two main species of malaria parasites are found in Nepal: Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum. Among these, Plasmodium vivax is more commonly found in Nepal. The Plasmodium falciparum parasite is found in 15 to 20 percent of malaria-infected individuals, which can also affect the human nervous system, he said.

The vivax parasite is found in 70 to 80 percent of cases. The falciparum parasite is found in Nepalis returning from abroad, he said. This disease is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. He said that it is necessary to keep homes, villages, and communities clean, fill in places where mosquitoes breed, and sleep inside mosquito nets.