Hundreds more report dengue fever in India
Pastor Dale Morgan
Hundreds more report dengue fever in India*
07 Oct 2006 09:13:51 GMT
Source: Reuters
NEW DELHI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - An outbreak of dengue fever has spread to
more Indian states with hundreds of additional cases of the
mosquito-borne infection being reported, officials said on Saturday.
Eight more people died over the past two days taking the death toll to
46, while the number of infected people rose by more than 400 to 3,331.
The disease, which began spreading in late August and was first detected
in the national capital New Delhi, has now been reported from 12 of the
country's 29 states.
The new states include Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala in the south,
Gujarat in the west, and West Bengal in the east.
"It's a serious problem," federal health secretary P.K. Hota told Reuters.
"It is certainly a failure because we know this will happen each year
but still we can not take adequate action against it."
Dengue cases peak in October, a prime time for mosquitoes to breed after
the end of monsoon rains.
Delhi has reported 18 deaths and the highest number of infections, which
are close to 1,000.
Civic authorities in the city have been running a campaign asking
residents to empty their water-coolers and even flower vases to remove
breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's son-in-law and two grandsons were
admitted to a city hospital with symptoms of dengue, local media
reported. Fumigation was carried out at his residence as a result.
The virus, which occurs mainly in the tropics, causes symptoms such as
fever, severe headache, joint and muscular pains, vomiting and rashes.