A total of 32 people died of malaria in 10 villages of Banke district in mid-western Nepal, the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division said on Monday.

 

According to the division, nearly 4,500 people of Gangapur, Phattepur, Naraijapur and Holia villages in the district, some 500 km west of Kathmandu, are under risk of catching the disease.

 

Director of the division Dr. Manas Kumar Banergi said nearly 1, 500 people were affected by the disease and some 600 among them had tested their blood.

 

According to the division, the area is flood prone and this year mosquitoes, the source of malaria, are seen breeding in the water which remained after the flood.

 

Teams of medical practitioners have been engaged in the field and Advisor to Minister for Health Dr. Mahesh Maskey is leading a team working in the field.

 

Banergi has expressed his hope that the disease will be contained within 35 days.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2006)