An outbreak of dengue fever has swept across India's capital and five states, killing 38 people and infected over 2,900 others, Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss said on Thursday.
The mosquito-borne disease, which began spreading in late August, has seen hundreds of people flocking to hospitals complaining of fever in New Delhi and in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Kerala. Dengue cases peak in October, a prime time for mosquitoes to breed after the end of the monsoon rains.
Last year there were 157 deaths and around 11,000 cases nation-wide, Ramadoss said.
Dengue is transmitted through the bite of the female aedes aegypti mosquito - also know as the "Asian tiger" due to its striped appearance and aggressive behaviour. Posters and announcements on radio and television advise the public to use mosquito repellents, and clear rubbish and stagnant water pools - considered breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
The government has also imposed fines on those who do not clean areas around their homes and offices. The World Health Organisation (WHO) officials say the state of hospitals in India and other developing countries is compromising the safety and health of patients.
Newspapers reported on Thursday that the outbreak may even have reached Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's family, with a son-in-law and two grandsons admitted to hospital with fever and due to undergo tests.
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