Kathmandu, June 16: A strain of influenza has sickened more than 700 people in a remote district in Nepal and a shortage of medication has made the situation worse, news reports said today. Viral influenza has spread in at least 17 villages in the remote Dadeldhura district, about 600 km northeast of the capital Katmandu, the Kathmandu post newspaper reported today. Quoting health official Lokraj Paneru, the post said health posts in these villages were facing a shortage of medicine and health workers.
Symptoms of the flu outbreak include fever, cough and body ache. It is believed to be spreading through polluted drinking water and contaminated food.
The spread of disease in mountainous villages is common in this Himalayan kingdom during the early summer months.

Health officials in Kathmandu said they were sending relief materials to the area. Bureau Report