40,000 people in the country affected by dengue & chikungunya

Union Health Minister J P Nadda today stressed on the need for close coordination between the Centre and states to deal with the outbreak of chikungunya and dengue, which have affected about 40,000 people in the country, even as he said there was no need to panic.

He assured all help to states in fighting the spread of vector-borne diseases and said it should not be an issue for indulging in blame game.

"We will try to fulfill all requirements. Whether it is dengue or chikungunya, we should not panic. There is a need to give symptomatic treatment. There is a need to take a lot of liquid.

"We are ready to offer all help to state governments. This is not an issue for the Centre and states to indulge in blame game. We should work together," Nadda said.

60 people have died across the country due to dengue. Four people have died in Delhi due to Chikungunya.

However, a senior Health Ministry official said the chikungunya deaths are being probed by its agencies to ascertain the exact reasons.

Nadda said that his Ministry had recently held a meeting with Delhi Health minister and various municipal agencies and directed them to follow all protocols while various other issues like providing guidelines, arrangemet of beds, training of doctors have been provided.

He said the Ministry has also put a cap on rates charged by various testing facilities for the diseases while all technical support has been provided to the states to deal with the situation.

As per the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), around 27,879 cases of dengue have been reported across the country and 60 people have succumbed to the disease till August 31.

5,000 cases each have been reported from West Bengal, Odisha and Kerala. While West Bengal has reported 5,129 dengue cases and 22 deaths, the disease has affected 5,183 people and claimed nine lives in Odisha.

AIIMS, Delhi, has reported five "suspected" dengue deaths this month. The national capital has recorded nine dengue deaths this year. The number of those diagnosed with the virus in the city has risen to over 1,150.

Around 12,255 cases of chinkungunya have been reported across the country. Karnataka alone has recorded 8,941.

Two chikungunya deaths were today reported from the national capital, taking the number of fatalities due to the vector-borne disease in the city to four while the number of cases have mounted to over 1,000 this season.

Meanwhile, a senior Health ministry official said that at this moment, there is an "outbreak" situation with regard to chikunguniya.