Health Alerts

A National Geographic article published on Apr 30 documents a 6-month rise in influenza cases that are impacting climbers in the Everest region, ‘originating from the high-altitude trekking lodges’. The medical director of the CIWEC Clinic, Dr Prativa Pandey, is quoted that she hadn’t seen ‘flu outbreaks like this’ in her time at the clinic.    

The WHO has confirmed that the death of a 21yo man in late March was due to complications of H5N1 avian influenza infection. The agency advised that ‘This is the first reported human case of Influenza A (H5N1) in Nepal. No additional case of infection with this virus has been reported by NPHL since then.’ The man lived in Bhaktapur District (~20kms SE of Kathmandu), the site of an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in poultry announced early last month. Read more.