82 people die of dengue in India

New Delhi : As many as 82 people have died of dengue across India till Oct 31, said Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Trivedi in written reply in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

During 2010 (till 31 October), 19143 dengue cases have been reported from all over the country, out of which 5543 cases have been reported from National Capital Territory of Delhi, the Minister said.

This year, total 82 deaths due to dengue have been reported in the country till 31st October, 2010.

Largest number of dengue cases were reported from Delhi (5543 cases including 8 deaths) followed by Kerala (2398 cases including 17 deaths), Punjab (2116 cases including 10 deaths) and Karnataka (2069 cases including 6 deaths).

The increased number of dengue cases in some parts of the country during 2010 as compared to previous years were due to extended and heavy rainfall during monsoon season along with construction activities resulting in creating conditions conducive for breeding of Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes.

To augment the diagnosis facility for dengue, 170 Sentinel Surveillance Hospitals (SSHs) have been established across the country in the endemic States. 33 such SSHs are in NCT of Delhi. Government of India provides dengue test kits to these hospitals through National Institute of Virology Pune.

Periodic reviews and field visits are carried out to assess the preparedness and to provide technical guidance to the State(s) to check spread of dengue.