Kathmandu, Jan. 13 -- A few days ago, a woman in her mid-50s suffering from a respiratory illness was rushed to the emergency ward of a private hospital. Her relatives informed the doctor that she had recovered from a flu just a week earlier. Test results showed that the patient had been infected with another virus back to back.

"The number of patients with respiratory diseases has risen of late," said Dr Raju Pangeni, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Hams Hospital. "The rise is seen not only in the out-patient's department but also in the emergency ward and among in-patients. Some of these patients have been admitted to the intensive care unit."

What concerns respiratory disease experts and virologists is that multiple respir...