Over 1,200 now down with dengue in Bengal

Kolkata, Sep 10 (IANS) The dengue outbreak in West Bengal has now affected over 1,200 people though the number of deaths remains at five, according to state health department data Monday.

The total number of people afflicted with the mosquito-borne disease has mounted to 1,224, of whom 766 are from the worst-hit Kolkata. All the five deaths have been reported from the metropolis.

The neighboring North 24 Parganas district has recorded 188 dengue cases.

Seventeen of the state's 19 districts have been hit by the virus that is carried into the human body by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been daily advising people about the do's and don'ts of the disease including which medicines to take and what to avoid if they exhibit dengue-like symptoms.

However, both the alliance partner Congress and opposition Left Front has accused the state government of suppressing the real figures.