Posted by Shefali Oza
The diarrhea epidemic which we reported in July has continued over the course of the last month. So far, a few thousand have been infected and the number of reported deaths has reached 26. Unfortunately, given the poor health infrastructure and communication networks in the district, these may be underestimates.
At Bayalpata Hospital, we have now treated nearly 400 patients with mild to severe diarrhea in the outpatient and emergency departments. Several of these patients have had to remain in the hospital for 1-3 days under observation. To make sure we can continue to treat the large number of patients coming to our site, we have ordered additional emergency medicines.
While the exact organism causing the outbreak is yet to be determined, most believe that, based on the symptoms, this is indeed a cholera epidemic. A worker from the Nepali government is currently at our hospital collecting stool samples. The analysis of these samples may help determine the organism.
We will provide additional updates in the coming weeks. As the monsoon season ends, we are hoping that this outbreak will end soon. Unfortunately, based on average 10-20 diarrhea cases we see per day, the epidemic still appears to be raging. The true number of patients who need treatment is likely far larger, many of whom cannot make it to our hospital because of poor roads and planting season.
