Kathmandu, March 9
The Ministry of Health and Population has launched a free PCR test campaign for mosquito-borne diseases like Zika virus infection, dengue and chikungunya.
At present, the National Public Health Laboratory is providing the service. People with symptoms of the diseases can reach the laboratory and get tested for free there, says the ministry’s joint spokesperson Dr Sameer Kumar Adhikari.
People visiting Nepal from foreign countries with symptoms of mosquito-borne diseases can get free PCR tests on the recommendations of doctors, says the laboratory’s spokesperson Rajesh Gupta.
All three diseases are spread by the bite of infected mosquitos.
Symptoms of the infections are fever, tiredness, excessive joint and muscle pain, vomiting and headache. People have been asked to be safe from the bites of mosquitos by setting up nets on the house doors and windows, using mosquito nets while sleeping, covering bare body parts with clothing, using mosquito repellent products and covering water-filled open.
