Kathmandu, August 20
World Mosquito Day is being observed in Nepal today with various programs under the slogan “Small Bite, Big Challenge.” The day is marked to raise public awareness about diseases caused by mosquito bites and ways to prevent them.
Mosquito bites can transmit diseases such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, kala-azar, scrub typhus, elephantiasis, and Japanese encephalitis. So far, 168 mosquito species have been confirmed in Nepal. According to the Ministry of Health and Food Hygiene’s Department of Health Services, around 18,710 people were affected by these diseases during the last fiscal year.
In recent years, the risk of mosquito-borne diseases has been increasing even in the high Himalayan region due to the impacts of climate change. The department said it has established laboratories in all seven provinces to support vector-borne disease control efforts.
According to Dagokarna Dahal, chief of the Vector Disease Control Branch, vector-borne diseases have now been reported in 56 districts across Nepal.
—RSS
