Disease claims 36 lives in west Nepal villages

Several dozen people have fallen ill in the six villages in Banke district, about 500 kms west of the capital Kathmandu.

An undiagnosed disease has claimed the lives of at least 36 people in the past two weeks in Nepal's rural west, news reports said on Tuesday.

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Several dozen people have fallen ill in the six villages in Banke district, about 500 kms west of the capital, Kathmandu, according to the popular Kantipur newspaper.

There are no hospitals in the area, but some villagers have managed to get to the nearest major city of Nepalgunj for treatment.

Health authorities at Nepalgunj said that a medical team had been sent to the area to investigate the cause.

A majority of the victims have been either children or elderly people. Symptoms of the mystery disease included fever, body ache, shivering and loss of consciousness.