'They have stopped us from entering the village,' the harassed wife said. 'When people pass our house, they call out, this is the house of the family that has swine flu and cover their nose so that they don't breathe in any virus.

'We are not allowed to work in the village or even buy food or other essential stuff. How can poor people like us survive?'

Chaudhary's plight is similar to the ostracisation people faced when Nepal reported the first outbreak of AIDS.

Despite awareness campaigns by the government and NGOs, in remote villages especially, where literacy is low, people suffering from AIDS, tuberculosis and leprosy are still ostracised by their neighbours.

Health workers refuse to treat them while their children are refused admission in schools.

Kailali, located on the India-Nepal border, is one of the poorest districts in the country. Every day, hundreds of villagers cross the border to go to India in search of work.

The outbreak of swine flu in India, where 67 people have died so far and over 2,000 diagnosed with the disease, has triggered an exodus of panic-stricken Nepali workers who have been returning home in droves.

So far, Nepal has reported only 28 cases of swine flu and all the patients have recovered.