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Dengue is a viral infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes. Dengue is widespread throughout the tropics, with local variations in risk influenced by climate parameters as well as social and environmental factors. Dengue is caused by a virus of the Flaviviridae family and there are four distinct, but closely related, serotypes of the virus that cause dengue (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4).
Dengue has become a rapidly growing concern in Nepal. The country has actively conducted vector surveillance in various districts, revealing the presence of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which are known vectors for dengue transmission. Nepal has a historical record of all four dengue serotypes circulating, but in 2022, DENV-1 and DENV-3 were the most prevalent, with no evidence of DENV-4. In that same year, Nepal reported 54,784 dengue cases and 88 deaths, marking the highest number ever recorded in the country. This figure was more than three times the number of cases reported in 2019.
As of 30 July, 2023 a total of 5688 dengue cases have been identified from 70 districts, with Koshi province reporting highest number (3821), followed by Bagmati province (962), Gandaki Province (357) and Sudurpaschim Province (325) as listed details in Figure 2.
The top 10 districts account for 87 % of all reported cases (4939 cases), while the cases are sporadic in other districts (Table 1). These top 10 districts include Sunsari (3486), Dhading (655), Kaski (208) Darchula (191), Kathamandu (96) Sankhuwasabha (75), Myagdi (58), Morang (57) Kanchanpur (57) and Jhapa (56) as shown in Figure 3.
Mortality of 4 dengue cases has been verified and 1 associated with server dengue shock syndrome and 3 from the dengue and other comorbidities.