Over 3800 dengue cases nationwide; 52 deaths

New Delhi, Oct 11: Even though the total number of dengue cases reported in the country have reached over 3800 with 52 deaths, Health Minister Anbumoni Ramadoss today said that the situation was better than the previous year when over 10,000 people were infected with the viral disease.

''Last year over 10,000 people were infected with dengue, this time, the situation has been blown out of proportion due to media hype,'' Dr Ramadoss told reporters when asked why the government has failed to contain the disease till now which has become an annual event in the country.

In 2005, 11,985 cases of dengue were reported across the country with 157 deaths of which maximum 56 deaths had occurred in Maharashtra, followed by 34 in West Bengal and 17 in Karnataka and eleven in Gujarat. Earlier, in 2003, 12754 dengue cases with 215 deaths were reported. The first major outbreak of the disease had happened in 1996 when 16517 cases of dengue were reported with 545 deaths.

This year Delhi and its neighbouring states have till today reported 1101 dengue cases of which 709 were from the national capital alone where maximum 22 people have died from the disease.

Other neighbouring states have reported 392 cases dengue.

The health minister, who visited All India Institute of Medical Sciences this morning, said that every day thousands of people with fever were reaching the hospital.

''AIIMS is a referal hospital, only serious cases should go there. We have notified 30 hospitals in various parts of Delhi where people could go and get themselves checked for dengue and also get free treatment,'' he said.

He said that all the states have been advised to screen patients at airports, railway stations and bus stop for fever check the spread of diseases like chikungunya and dengue.

However, dengue and chikungunya could be effectively checked only by increasing awareness about the disease so that community and householders could take measures to stop mosquitos from breeding in their vicinity, he added.

UNI

Related Stories