Yet another undiagnosed illness in Nepal

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http://www.ekantipur.com/kolnews.php?&nid=198678

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Mystery disease raging
Kantipur Report
TEHRATHUM, June 11 - Outbreak of an unidentified disease has affected hundreds of families at Tamaphok VDC in Sankhuwasabha district since last week.
The disease that first affected the people of Tamaphok VDC ward 2 has spread through wards 3 and 4 and is threatening to afflict other areas in the absence of immediate measures to contain it.

The patients exhibit progressive symptoms of headache, fever, burning sensation in the throat, acidity, nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting blood and then faint. The disease has spread to such an extent that in many cases all family members of a house are bed-ridden.

Villagers in the affected areas have accused authorities concerned of complacence. The nearby health centre has long been reeling under shortage of medical staff as well as medicines making the situation worse. Paras Ghimire of the health centre said the district hospital has not responded, though it was repeatedly notified about the epidemic.

"The patients exhibit progressive symptoms of headache, fever, burning sensation in the throat, acidity, nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting blood and then faint."

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Re: Yet another undiagnosed illness in Nepal

This sounds similar to a previous report of an outbreak in another part of Nepal a few weeks ago that involved vomitting blood. Like this outbreak, that outbreak had no reports of deaths.

The mention of "acidity" here might mean that the vomitting is so severe as to be tearing the esophagus, something ProMed speculated on the other outbreak. I suspect some kind of gastro-intestinal illness, but precisely what this is, can't even imagine.

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Re: Yet another undiagnosed illness in Nepal

This sounds similar to a previous report of an outbreak in another part of Nepal a few weeks ago that involved vomitting blood. Like this outbreak, that outbreak had no reports of deaths.

The mention of "acidity" here might mean that the vomitting is so severe as to be tearing the esophagus, something ProMed speculated on the other outbreak. I suspect some kind of gastro-intestinal illness, but precisely what this is, can't even imagine.

While the illness is similar, the location is not. This outbreak is hundreds of kilometers from the one in Rolpa. I have a feeling this is a fairly common disease in Nepal, probably some form of gastroenteritis, probably spread by water (as ProMed indicated in the Rolpa posting).

Unfortunately, due to the lack of medical supplies in the area, and the lack of technology, a precise etiology for these outbreaks is not likely to be forthcoming.