Beware snakes, sand flies, monkeys, dogs, mosquitoes, worms and more!  In much of the western world people don’t have to think about the risks from these, or from contaminated water or food. But there are many neglected tropical diseases such as snake venom, kala-azar*, dengue, rabies and more which our hospitals are regularly treating and in some cases can be deadly.

There has been an explosion of dengue in Nepal over the past four years (see the dengue cases chart from United Mission Hospital Tansen – UMHT). Dr John Padgett from Okhaldhunga Community Hospital shares: “In 2022 we even heard of transmission of dengue fever even in Solukhumbu (Everest’s district, to the north of Okhaldhunga). It was unheard of at those altitudes ( > 2,000m), but presumably mosquitoes are active in the warmer season. One can only surmise that global warming is having effect. It is now estimated that half the world’s population is at risk of catching dengue.”

Please pray for effective containment of these diseases and for all those affected to get treatment in time.

*visceral leischmaniasis