Delhi Health minister says more being done to control dengue spread

New Delhi, Oct 1 (UNI) Admitting that the Capital was under the grip of deadly Dengue, Delhi Health Minister Yoganand Shastri today said despite more than 100 cases added in the last one week itself there was no cause for panic.

Additional steps like deploying another 2,400 personnel for fumigation and fogging in all areas of the Capital, launching a special drive to clean coolers in government offices and creating awareness among the people against mosquito breeding were being taken to keep the situation under control, said the minister.

''As of now 448 cases of dengue have been reported of which 201 were from outside Delhi -- 118 from Uttar Pradesh and 40 from Haryana. Effectively there are just 247 cases of Delhi.'' Last Sunday the reported figure was 327, which rose to 448 today, registering an increase of 121 in just one week. But there was no reason to press the panic button as several effective steps have been taken, besides the ones already in place to deal with the situation, Mr Shastri told mediapersons after the 30-minute 'Review Meeting' with Lt Governor B L Joshi this afternoon.

The meeting was also attended by MCD Commissioner A K Nigam, Delhi Health Secretary D S Negi and Municipal Health Officer N K Yadav.

Meanwhile, at the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where a student died yesterday due to the viral fever, of the 35 dengue patients admitted are 18 resident doctors, students and nurses from the institute.

Yesterday the figure was 22.

However, officials at AIIMS said none of them were serious.

''The one in ICU was stable,'' they said.

There was no cause for panic, they added despite the fact that the hospital had to call an emergency meeting to address the problem on the campus.

UNI AN YA BD1618