15 die of "mystery illness" in Nepal

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http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert_read.php?glide=EH-20100210-24877-NPL&cat=dis&lang=eng

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/19-general/4081-unidentified-disease-claims-dozen-lives-in-bhaktapur.html

At least 11 persons have died in the past one month of an illness with similar symptoms in a Tamang village in Chagu Narayan VDC, Bhaktapur located in the north-east of the Kathmandu valley. Reports say, panic has gripped the villagers after young people started dying hours after showing symptoms of illness. Everyone who died in the past month showed similar symptoms before death. They complained of headache, temperature and dizziness and oozed out fizz from their mouth and died within hours. The villagers have neither been taking the patients to hospital nor making any efforts for medical treatment. Instead, they resorted to traditional healing including employing traditional healers like Dhamis and Jhankris. VDC secretary of Chagu Narayan informed the public health office of the illness. None of the health professionals have reached the village as of Tuesday. Officials have said, doctors are going to the hospital on Wednesday.

Those who died in the past month due to the disease include Rakesh Tamang, 27, Kumar Tamang, 21, Risimaya Tamang, 29, Bila Tamang, 32, and Poornimaya Tamang, 42. nepalnews.com

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Re: 11 die of "mystery illness" in Nepal

And an increase to 15 deaths, with about two dozen cases.

Sounds like some type of encephalitis, and with foaming at the mouth and ejection of saliva, Rabies is possible. Rabies is universally fatal, at least in such situations, which might help determine whether it is the agent here or not. Animal deaths might also be seen, but it really only takes one ill animal to produce such an outbreak. Other encephalitis etiologies such as Chandipura, Nipah, and even cerebral malaria will also be considered.

The mention of alcohol below also raises the specter of a mass poisoning of some kind, whether biological or otherwise.

This does appear to be one of those outbreaks where the mention of witchcraft below is a sign that unusual symptoms are being seen, which would be consistent with such an outbreak.

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=15004

Mystery disease death toll reaches 15
RAMESH GIRI/RSS

BHAKTAPUR, Feb 10: A team with doctors has been mobilized from Wednesday after the death toll from an unknown disease in Khoria Gaun and Mangalgaun of Changunarayan VDC Ward No. 4 and 5 of Bhaktapur, reached 15.

The team led by Chief Public Health Officer Jaya Bahadur Karki of District Public Health Office Bhaktapur with doctors including Dr Khageshwar Gelal of the First Aid Center, Public Health Inspector Tarna Bahadur Shrestha as well as a media team inspected the two villages on Wednesday.

The team collected information on the symptoms of the disease and examined in each house of the patients and distributed medicines.

Similarly, another team which included Dr Nirmal Kandel from WHO, Pranaya Kumar Upadhyay from the Epidemiology Division, and Bishnu Upadhyay from National Public Health Laboratory also collected samples of blood and saliva from the spot.

The seven-member district team will stay in the local school and treat patients in each house daily, said Chief Karki.

The disease has the symptoms like headache, fever, speech loss, trembling, ejecting of saliva, and leading up to death.

Fifteen people have so far died from the disease and more than two dozen have taken ill.

Locals have a different logic about the epidemic that the disease was spread as a headless evil spirit entered the village a few weeks ago and cast a spell thereby spreading the disease.

Local teacher Lal Bahadur Tamang said the disease proliferated due to lack of awareness, filth, open toilet, polluted drinking water and consumption of alcohol.

Red Cross Changu President and teacher Prem Prasad Khatiwada said the disease can be cured if sanitation is started immediately and sale and consumption of alcohol is banned

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: 11 die of "mystery illness" in Nepal

From yesterday:

Mysterious disease claims 10 lives in Changunarayan

KANTIPUR REPORT
BHAKTAPUR, FEB 09 -
Ten people have died following a sudden outbreak of a mysterious disease in Changunarayan VDC, Bhaktapur district over the past one week, locals said.

According to one local Kanchha Tamang, patients of such disease show fever for 10-15 minutes in the beginning and then start shivering and emitting saliva for a few hours and succumb to the symptoms.

He said the disease broke out in a backward Tamang village in Kharekhola of the district one month ago. For the past one weekm people started to die immediately after showing the symptoms.

Saying that one Rachhek Tamang died three days ago after contracting the disease, Kanchha said ten people have died of the disease in over the past seven days.

The deceased have been identified as Kumar Tamang, 21, Rishimaya Tamang, 29, Bila Tamang, 32, Purnamaya Tamang, 42. The identity of other five has not been ascertained yet.

Changunarayan VDC secretary Dhruba Shrestha said the public health office was informed about the incident. The public health office has carried out medical investigation on the bodies. Meanwhile, the locals have accused the district administration, public health and other concerned authority have overlooked the outbreak even when it is at the threshold of turning into the

http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/02/09/headlines/Mysterious-disease-claims-10-lives-in-Changunarayan/308077/

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Re: 11 die of "mystery illness" in Nepal

From yesterday:

Mysterious disease claims 10 lives in Changunarayan

KANTIPUR REPORT
BHAKTAPUR, FEB 09 -
Ten people have died following a sudden outbreak of a mysterious disease in Changunarayan VDC, Bhaktapur district over the past one week, locals said.

According to one local Kanchha Tamang, patients of such disease show fever for 10-15 minutes in the beginning and then start shivering and emitting saliva for a few hours and succumb to the symptoms.

He said the disease broke out in a backward Tamang village in Kharekhola of the district one month ago. For the past one weekm people started to die immediately after showing the symptoms.

Saying that one Rachhek Tamang died three days ago after contracting the disease, Kanchha said ten people have died of the disease in over the past seven days.

The deceased have been identified as Kumar Tamang, 21, Rishimaya Tamang, 29, Bila Tamang, 32, Purnamaya Tamang, 42. The identity of other five has not been ascertained yet.

Changunarayan VDC secretary Dhruba Shrestha said the public health office was informed about the incident. The public health office has carried out medical investigation on the bodies. Meanwhile, the locals have accused the district administration, public health and other concerned authority have overlooked the outbreak even when it is at the threshold of turning into the
http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/02/09/...arayan/308077/

Excellent find. This all happening within a week is far more consistent with the mass consumption of (or attack by) a rabid animal than if this had been spread over a month or more. But this article mentions both time periods. And the mention of fever for 10-15 minutes is just odd and possibly incorrect. Reports of an artificially short illness may be a way of expressing a high CFR.

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Re: 15 die of "mystery illness" in Nepal

http://www.reportersnepal.com/newsbase/nid/23456

MYSTERIOUS AILMENT TAKING TOLL IN TAMANG VILLAGE EAST OF KATHMANDU
February 09 2010


BHAKTAPUR: Yet to be identified ailment has taken 10 lives in Changunarayan of Bhaktapur in the last one week. The indication have been reported to be fever, following by dizzy feeling and vomiting, with end following soon after.

The sickness has been reported from a Tamang village in the remote stretches of the Changunaryan VDC. However VDC secretary has claimed that the efforts were underway to identify the cause in post mortem.

[Shiloh]

Re: 15 die of "mystery illness" in Nepal

Source: http://www.zeenews.com/news603354.html

Mysterious disease claims 15 lives in Nepal

Updated on Thursday, February 11, 2010, 18:19 IST T

Kathmandu: A mysterious disease, marked by headache, fever, speech loss, trembling, has claimed 15 lives and more than two dozen have fallen ill in less than a week in Nepal's Bhaktapur district.

Two medical teams have been rushed to Khoria Gaun and Mangalagaun of Changunarayan Village to collect saliva samples of the patients.

The medical teams today inspected the villages. They collected information on the symptoms of the disease. They also examined the patients and distributed medicines.

Meanwhile, the locals have accused that the district administration and other concerned authority have overlooked the outbreak.

PTI

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Re: 15 die of "mystery illness" in Nepal

This is very strange. Now this article spreads the 15 deaths over two months (and several villages), as opposed to over one week or one month. It also raises the possibility that this is due to several illnesses.

There is a reasonable probability that the symptomatic description we are being given is coming from the locals, not the doctors, and may be incorrect. Keep in mind one of the most effective ways to get medical attention in a Nepalese village is to claim strange symptoms. The symptomatic description below borders on impossible. Obviously, the potential diagnoses above would not apply in that case.

http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/02/11/National-Featured-News/15-die-of-various-illnesses-in-country/308160/

15 die of various illnesses in country

KANTIPUR REPORT
KATHMANDU, FEB 11 -
As many as 15 people have died of chronic diseases such as bronchitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gastritis within a two month period at Changunarayan, Mangaltar and Chhapa VDCs, only 25 km east of Kathmandu, health officials said.

Dr. Jaya Bahadur Karki, Chief of Public Health Office at Bhaktapur, said that the villagers had been suffering from the diseases due to dirty water and unhygienic sanitation.

According to Dr. Karki, as per the locals, those who died exhibited high temperature for 10-15 minutes, start shivering and emitting saliva for a few hours, and then die.

Dr. Karki said that a massive health awareness campaign was needed in the area, and the public health office mobilised immediately after it was informed about the deaths. The office carried out door-to-door visits and medical investigations on residents of the area who showed similar symptoms. The Bhaktapur Public health office has also set up a week-long health clinic in the area with an adequate stock of medicines.

On Wednesday, a four-member team led by senior epidemiologist Pranab Upadhya from the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD), representatives from the World Health Organization, and the National Public Health Laboratory conducted on-the-spot investigations and collected blood samples. The confirmation of any other disease can only be made once the samples are tested, according to Dr. GD thakur, Director at EDCD