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Two persons died in a road accident in Rupa Rural Municipality of Kaski district on Saturday.

The deceased have been identified as Krishna Gurung (29) and Ashok Gurung (24) of Dudhpokhari Rural Municipality-6, Lamjung.

The District Police Office, Kaski said that they were heading towards Rupataal from Pokhara Metropolitan City-32 on a bike (Pra 3 02 009Pa 5205) when the incident occurred yesterday.

Critically injured in the incident, they were rescued by the police and taken to the Western Regional Hospital for treatment but doctors pronounced them dead on arrival.

Meanwhile, the police are investigating the cause of the fatal accident.

Kamala Murmu (30), a resident of Arjundhara Municipality-6, has been held hostage by an unknown gang in Iraq, her mother has said while making an appeal for her rescue.

Her mother Lakhi Murmu says that three years ago Kamala was 'sold' in Iraq by a human trafficker on the pretext of taking her to Oman for foreign employment. Initially, there was no contact with her for six months but since then we talk to each other through voice messages from time to time and my daughter is saying that she has been taken hostage, says Lakhi.

Kamala's eight-year-old daughter is with her grandmother Lakhi. After her husband based in Gujarat, India abandoned her, Kamala was forced to go abroad for a livelihood, claims Lakhi.

The family claims that Govinda Kattel of Itahari and Madan Kharel of Birtamod-1 took Kamala to Iraq on the pretext of a good job in Oman.

Lakhi said that Kamala has been expressing fear that the gang will kill her if she is not rescued. She was not allowed to eat well, forced to sleep on the cold floor and subjected to hard labor.

It has been a long time since the victim's family informed the local police office, ward office, municipality and rescue organizations such as Maiti Nepal about the incident. The family complains that even those agencies are not interested in the rescue.

Kopila Basnet, president of Samunnat Nepal, said that the victim's mother, Lakhi, contacted her after there was no initiative from anywhere to rescue Kamala. Basnet, who is also a lawyer, said, "Kamala Murmu has been taken hostage in a foreign country. I request the government and administration to make an effort to rescue her quickly."

Most of the deaths in Nepal (71 percent) are caused by non-communicable diseases, according to a study.

The risk of non-communicable diseases is increasing day by day, pointed out researchers, who conducted the study, at a PEN-Plus program organized here in Damak, Jhapa, by a government hospital to reduce and manage risks of non-communicable diseases.

The Kathmandu Institute of Child Health (KIOCH) coordinated the program. On the occasion, the KIOCH Chair Prof Dr Bhagawan Koirala presented data of deaths from non-communicable disease putting the number of deaths at 71 percent. Infectious disease has gone unchecked posing a greater risk to the country’s health sector, he said.

When the PEN-Plus program runs effectively, the mortality rate from non-communicable disease could be significantly dropped in the next five to 10 years, he said.

“Providing treatment after early diagnosis of diseases can help prevent early death. Health insurance for the poor, and availability of early treatment and medicines can also help,” he said.

On the occasion, Rector of the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Prof Dr Sanjeev Sharma, shared that untimely death of the people could be prevented if PEN-Plus program is effectively implemented. 

He expressed commitment to make necessary arrangements for the health examination and treatment of the patients referred from Damak. 

Similarly, Chief of PEN-Plus program under the Department of Health Services, Phanindra Prasad Baral, mentioned that the program has been launched as a pilot program in Damak and Bardiya and it would be expanded to other places.

Deputy-Mayor of Damak municipality, Regina Bhattarai, urged neighboring local-levels to take benefit as the PEN-Plus program has been launched at Damak hospital.

The World Health Organization has said that it is currently tracking several Covid-19 “variants of interest,” including EG.5 which is on the rise in several countries. The UN health body said that the EG.5 variant of the coronavirus nicknamed “Eris” is spreading quickly and widely.

“The risk remains of a more dangerous variant emerging that could cause a sudden increase in cases and deaths,” said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva on Aug 9.

What is EG.5?

EG.5 is a sublineage of the omicron variant and has been detected in 51 countries, including the United States, China, South Korea and Japan, according to an initial risk evaluation of the WHO.

EG.5 is a descendent lineage of XBB.1.9.2, which has the same spike amino acid profile as XBB.1.5. It was first reported in Feb 2023 and cases have been increasing steadily.

Globally, there has been a steady increase in the proportion of EG.5 reported. During epidemiological week 29 (17-23 July), the global prevalence of EG.5 was 17.4 percent. This is a notable rise from the data reported four weeks prior (19-25 June 2023), when the global prevalence of EG.5 was 7.6 percent.

Because of its growth advantage and immune escape characteristics, EG.5 may cause a rise in case incidence and become dominant in some countries or even globally, the WHO has warned.

What symptoms does it cause?

The symptoms seem to be the same as those caused by other strains, said Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, Chief of the Clinical Research Unit at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital.

Symptoms similar to other variants of coronavirus such as a runny nose, headache, fatigue, and sore throat and sneezing are common. People who are older, have compromised immune systems, or suffer from multiple other conditions are at higher risk for more severe effects which may include lower respiratory disease, chest pain and shortness of breath.

Is Nepal prepared to handle a rise in the number of cases?

Nepal has seen a total of 1,157,462 coronavirus cases as of Aug 15, as per the Ministry of Health and Population. A total of 12,031 deaths have been reported across the country. 

There was a massive rise in the number of coronavirus cases during the spread of the Delta variant. At the time, there was a severe lack of oxygen, hospital beds, human resources, and medical equipment in hospitals and other health facilities. But Nepal has not learnt lessons from the past, said Dr Pun. “If there is a sudden rise in the number of cases, it will be difficult to handle the cases.” 

The government has already scrapped the Covid-19 protocols. As per the protocol international passengers no longer have to carry negative PCR test reports and Covid vaccination certificates. Also the restrictions that were imposed for the prevention of the coronavirus infection have already been lifted.

When there is a rise in the number of cases in foreign countries due to the new variant, it is very likely that the same variant could enter Nepal. “We have to monitor our borders, strengthen our health system and increase surveillance,” said Dr Pun.

Recommendations to prevent the virus

In response to the new variant and rise in the number of cases, the WHO has published various recommendations, which include updating national Covid-19 programs to move towards longer term sustained management of the disease. It has also urged countries around the world to continue collaborative surveillance to detect significant changes in the virus, as well as trends in disease severity and population immunity.

WHO chief Tedros called for all countries to report Covid-19 data, especially on death and severe disease, genetic sequences and vaccine effectiveness.

“Governments should continue to offer vaccination against the disease, especially for the most at-risk groups, and ensure equitable access to vaccines, tests and treatment,” he said during a press conference in Geneva.

The WHO has also added that all countries should deliver optimal clinical care for Covid-19, including access to proven treatments and measures to protect health workers and caregivers.

The coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and WHO declared the global pandemic the following March. Since then, nearly seven million people have died from Covid-19, and there have been more than 769m confirmed cases worldwide.

What can you do to protect yourself from the new variant?

Vaccination is important for those who are elderly and have weakened immune systems. To prevent oneself from the new variant one must get vaccinated, wear a mask and avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.