Thoughts on Cholera Outbreaks in Nepal

As a glimpse to prevailing public health situation, Nepalese people saw huge cholera outbreaks in western part of the country. This disease affected every facet of everyday social life, leaving some at the mercy of their innate immunity or home remedies. Nepal is endemic for cholera and every year, there are several reports of outbreak from various corners of the country. Despite all effort to save as many lives as possible, many unfortunates lost their near and dear to this merciless disease in 2009. These kind of outbreaks have reminded us time and again that such unwanted events can be averted with good surveillance network and putting efficient health delivery system in place. This is just one example among many scourges that has hit hard in hard to reach areas of the country. It is also imperative to understand the fact that there is an added challenge to the health system of country with due to increasing population density, which is compounded by epic poverty and ongoing volatile political impasse. These have more than ever pressed Government of Nepal for strong integrated epidemiological surveillance of infectious diseases in the community.