On Sunday, a pregnant woman in her third trimester was rushed to the emergency department of Thapathali-based Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital as she was suffering from high fever.

Doctors at the hospital discovered that the woman was suffering from dengue fever and that her platelet count was dangerously low.

“We have seen several cases of dengue-related complications among pregnant women in recent days,” said Dr Shree Prasad Adhikari, director of the hospital. “The risk of premature delivery, low birth weight in newborns and several other complications increases if pregnant women are infected with the dengue virus.”

Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease transmitted by women. Aedes aegypti And Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. The same vector also transmits chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika viruses, according to the World Health Organization.

Lately, hospitals in Kathmandu Valley have reported a surge in dengue infection rates.

At least nine deaths and more than 20,000 infections have been reported across the country’s 77 districts. Experts believe that reported dengue cases may represent only a small fraction of the true scale of the epidemic, as around 90 percent of those infected show no symptoms.

With a recent increase in infection rates, the number of pregnant women contracting this deadly virus is also increasing alarmingly. Maternal health experts are particularly concerned that viral infections during pregnancy can lead to serious complications that increase the risk of maternal and neonatal deaths.

“Even though we are yet to record maternal and neonatal deaths due to dengue, we have seen several cases of premature births and low birth weight,” Adhikari said. “Due to low platelet counts, we transfused blood into several patients. »

Maternal health experts say that due to weakening immunity, the chances of pregnant women becoming seriously ill increase significantly, as does the risk of mortality rates. According to them, compared to normal people, pregnant women are at high risk of contracting serious dengue infections.

“Pregnant women might experience prepartum hemorrhage, which may lead to premature delivery,” said Dr Sunil Sharma Acharya, doctor at Thapathali maternity ward. “The effects on the liver could be exacerbated by dengue. Dengue infection during pregnancy also increases the risk of miscarriage.

Experts say a high fever and medications used to treat the fever could lead to premature labor, contractions and premature delivery. Excessive bleeding during delivery or within 24 hours of delivery, transmission of infection to newborns also increases the risk of maternal and neonatal deaths.

Nepal has reduced the maternal mortality rate from 239 per 100,000 births in 2016 to 151 per 100,000 in 2021, according to the national census conducted by the National Statistics Office.

Previously, the country had reduced the maternal mortality rate from 539 per 100,000 births in 1996 to 239 per 100,000 births in 2016 – for which the country even received a Millennium Development Goals award.

The health target of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is to reduce the maternal mortality rate to 75 per 100,000 births by 2030.

The increasing rate of dengue infection, which also affects pregnant women, has alarmed experts. They warned that increasing dengue infection rates could increase maternal mortality. They asked pregnant women to consult a doctor if they were infected with the dengue virus and advised them not to take over-the-counter medicines.

The post-monsoon period is considered a high transmission season for dengue, but Nepal has witnessed outbreaks of the deadly disease since the beginning of the year and during the pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. monsoon.

“Hundreds of people in Kathmandu Valley may have been infected with the dengue virus in recent days,” said Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, head of the clinical research unit at Shukraraj Hospital. “As the post-monsoon period is the peak season for dengue, neither the general public nor the authorities took the problem seriously, and the increase in the infection rate was evident. »

As there is no specific treatment for dengue, health workers provide symptomatic care and diagnose patients based on symptoms, including platelet-rich plasma transfusion.

According to doctors, mild to high fever, severe muscle pain, skin rashes, severe headache and eye pain are some of the symptoms of dengue.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says there is no specific treatment for severe dengue, but early detection and access to appropriate medical care can save lives.