Hepatitis E victims count crosses 1000 mark in Biratnagar

KATHMANDU: The Hepatitis E, Jaundice, epidemic outbreak in Biratnagar area of Morang district has continued to spread as the number of people receiving treatment for the disease crossed over one thousand. The increase in numbers of infected have thrown hospitals out of capacity and are forced to treat victims on the floor.
The District Public Health Office’s data claimed that the district has recorded 1183 incidents of Hepatitis E infected patients of which 17 are being treated in hospitals and 9 have lost their lives to the disease.
Efforts made by concerned authorities have failed to prevent the disease from spreading and efforts have been put to identify the cause of the outbreak.
Commenting on the efforts made to avert the disease from increasing, DPHO Morang’s chief said that efforts have been made to call on citizens for drinking boiled water and hygienic food.
Meanwhile, a Chief District Officer Ganesh Raj Karki led investigation team has started investigation in finding the cause behind the infiltration of the Coliform bacteria- a bacteria that is found in human excreta- in the drinking water system. As part of the investigation the team has inspected drainage system of some big hotels in the town and have figured out that the sewerage pipes and drinking water pipes were laid together.
A member of the team, Upendra Rai, Chief at the Regional Food Technology and Quality Control Office, said that ‘waste management system of the hotels has been terrific.”
Rai said that some hotels have been draining human waste and kitchen waste in the Municipalities drainage system without using any filtering process. Karki said that as the drinking water pipeline also run adjacent to the sewerage pipe, it might have infected the water.