Author: Himalaya Post

A health desk has been set up at northern border checkpoint Tatopani to prevent possible outbreak of Novel Corona Virus infection, which was fast spreading across China. Sindhupalchowk Chief District Officer Goma Devi Chemjong informed that the public awareness creation followed by setup of health desk was carried out in coordination with Bhotekoshi rural municipality. Arrangement has been made to provide health check-up at the desk and immediately refer the patients to Kathmandu hospital if detected with the features of corona virus, said District Public Health Officer Durga Dutta Chapagain. Import of goods from China has been closed for the past one week due to Lhosar festival as well as road disruption in Tibet following heavy snowfall, said Information Officer at Tatopani Customs Office Keshab Wali. According to the Immigration Office, Chinese doctors have been providing health examination service in Khasa region from the very beginning of the outbreak of corona virus infection and also preventing people with minor fever from moving to Nepal. The border checkpoint which was completely halted after the 2015 earthquake has come to resumption on 29 May 2019. Despite having a daylong entry pass, the Chinese side has stopped Nepali workers from going beyond Khasa as a precautionary measure....

Boosting efforts to fight pneumonia could avert nearly 23,000 child deaths from pneumonia and other major diseases in Nepal, a new analysis has found ahead of the first ever global forum on childhood pneumonia in Barcelona (January 29-31). According to a modelling by Johns Hopkins University, scaling up pneumonia treatment and prevention services can save the lives of about 9,000 children under the age of five. It would also create ‘a ripple effect’ that would prevent more than 14,000 extra child deaths from other major childhood diseases at the sametime, underscoring the need for integrated health services. Pneumonia is caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, and leaves children fighting for breath as their lungs fill with pus and fluid. It is the biggest single killer of children, claiming the lives of 800,000 children last year, or a child every 39 second. The disease is a leading killer of children in Nepal, causing 13 per cent of under-five deaths. Although some types of pneumonia can be prevented with vaccines and can be easily treated with low-cost antibiotics if properly diagnosed, one out of five one-year-olds in Nepalis unvaccinated, and many children suffering from pneumonia symptoms do not get access to medical treatment. Child deaths from pneumonia are concentrated in the world’s poorest countries and it is the most deprived and marginalised children who suffer the most. Forecasts show that over...