The government has asked Nepal army deploy its resources to curb the outbreak of diarrhea in Jajarkot.

Defense minister Bidhya Devi Bhandari summoned Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Rookmangud Katawal to her office Thursday and asked him to send army health workers to Jajarkot and other diarrhea affected districts in the mid western region to help paramedics bring the outbreak under control.

Following the directive from the defense minister, the army is preparing to dispatch a team of six doctors along with other paramedics and proper medicines in two choppers. The army will establish temporary health camps in coordination with health ministry officials in the worst-affected areas where locals are in dire need of medication.

Earlier, a delegation of Jajarkot locals had asked Bhandari to take necessary steps to bring the disease under control.

I have asked the army to help as the outbreak cannot be controlled by the efforts the health ministry alone, minister Bhandari told The Himalayan Times daily.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal also summoned acting health secretary Dr Dirgha Singh Bam to his office Thursday and asked him to take immediate steps to control the outbreak of diarrhea in Jajarkot and surrounding districts.

The Epidemiology and Disease Control Division is preparing to launch a special campaign to bring the outbreak under control by coordinating with the security agencies as per the directives of the PM.

Diarrhea outbreak in Jajarkot and surrounding districts has taken a near-epidemic stage with the death toll reaching almost hundred and hundreds being affected with the disease.

Health officials have said they are facing challenges to curb the outbreak due to the remoteness of the affected areas. Although, there is ample stock of medicines at the district headquarter, there is a shortage of such medicines at the affected areas, reports say. nepalnews.com