Which viruses are currently active and challenging our health?

Which viruses are currently active and challenging our health?

Health officials have said that while the rate of covid infection has been high in the last few weeks, infections caused by other viruses with similar symptoms are also increasing.

Health problems such as fever, joint pain and headache are symptoms of coronavirus infection, but the symptoms of adenovirus, which has infected many children recently, are also the same.

In addition to the coronavirus, which has symptoms in people of all ages, and the adenovirus, which affects children, dengue infection, which has the same symptoms, has also been seen in some districts of Nepal.

In the last seven months, 900 people have been infected with dengue, which spreads every year during the rainy season in Nepal.

Apart from this, malaria, Nipah virus and scrub typhus infections are also appearing sporadically in Nepal.

Health officials have warned that monkeypox, which has spread from South Africa to Europe and America and has reached neighboring India, is also high in Nepal.

Coronavirus

The Omicron variant, which has been mutating the coronavirus seen in Nepal since 2020, has been active in Nepal for the past one year.

Since its various subspecies have become active, the rate of covid infection has been high for the past one month.

Symptoms of the Omicron variant include runny nose, headache, body aches (moderate or severe), sneezing, and sore throat.

“Omicron came with flu-like symptoms. Because of this, it has become more susceptible to seasonal flu," Dr. Head of the Clinical Research Unit of Shukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital in Teku. Sher Bahadur Pun says.

Recently, 17 percent of the infected people are infected with Covid and now more than 5000 people are actively infected.

According to the details released by the Ministry of Health and Population on Sunday, all the districts except Manang, Kalikot and Humla are infected with Covid.

Although it is said that it will be easy to control because of vaccination, only 71 percent of people in Nepal have taken the full amount of Covid vaccine.

Adenovirus

Experts say that this virus seen in children is a virus of the self-limiting group.

Although there is no separate monitoring system in Nepal, a few weeks ago, a large number of children infected with this virus were found at Kanti Children's Hospital.

According to the hospital, at the end of July, 900 to 1,000 patients with symptoms of the virus came to the hospital for treatment.

President of Nepal Pediatric Society and pediatrician Dr. According to Ganesh Rai, adenovirus causes cold and fever.

"Most of its symptoms are similar to those of the coronavirus. But what makes it different is that the eyes of children are swollen," he said.

In case of such an infection, the fever will be cured in three to five-six days. Some people get pneumonia and have stuffy nose and ears.

Colds caused by this virus will heal in eight to 10 days, and eye infections in about 10 days.

Dengue

Symptoms of dengue, which is spread by mosquitoes that are active during the day, are similar to those of covid-like fever, joint pain, headache and fatigue.

Looking at the statistics of the past few years, there are many dengue infections in Nepal between July and September. This time the infection of covid is also on the rise at this time.

Officials say the risk of people getting hooked has increased.

“Looking at the details up to the beginning of August, it seems that there has been an increase this year compared to last year. As the rainfall continues, the possibility of further increase can be assessed," said Gokarna Dahal of the Epidemiology and Communicable Disease Control Division.

According to the department, last January, 904 people from 60 districts in Nepal were infected with dengue. 75 percent of which are infected in 10 districts of Lumbini and Bagmati provinces.

Risk of monkeypox

Other infections with symptoms similar to Corona have also been found in Nepal.

Swine flu caused by H1N1 virus also appears in Nepal from time to time.

Nepal is also at risk of scrub typhus, which is spread by the bite of a type of insect, and Nipah virus, which is spread by NIV, a type of bat called 'fruit bat'.

Officials say that there is a high risk of monkeypox appearing in Nepal, which has also entered India, a neighboring country that has an open border with Nepal.

Experts say that vaccines to prevent monkeypox have not been developed and it is difficult to test people coming from abroad, so the risk is high.

Although Nepal arranges surveillance on suspected persons at international airports, there is no surveillance on those arriving by land.

“We also test whether there is fever or not. Some may not have a fever during the test. It doesn't matter whether someone has khatira in their life or not. Khatira may have come in places where some people can't see it,” says Chumanlal Das, head of the Epidemiology and Communicable Disease Control Division.

Officials say that tests have been started at the National Public Health Laboratory, Teku, where monkeypox is suspected.

Officials recommend consulting a dermatologist and testing if such an infection is suspected.

'You don't know without testing

With so many viruses active, it's hard to guess what's wrong with people when they get sick.

Experts are of the view that detection, treatment and prevention will be easier as soon as testing is done.

Because it is difficult for health workers to identify the disease based on symptoms, identification is necessary for this, said Dr. Teku Hospital. repeat.

"It is necessary to know what happened in order to treat. Due to the infection that can be spread with the treatment, we were able to take care not to spread it to others," says Pun.

He suggested that testing is also necessary to avoid using unnecessary drugs.

"Using drugs without testing can sometimes lead to unnecessary over-medication. It was not good financially, it was an unnecessary burden on the body and it could have an effect," said Dr. Says again.