New Delhi: Even as north India continues to battle dengue, the Government insists that the disease is not an epidemic.
Everyday over 300 people queue up at Jaipur's SMS hospital, complaining of high fever and of these, around 10 per cent report symptoms of dengue.
The situation is compounded by the acute shortage of blood in the hospitals.
But despite seven deaths reported so far, the state government claims the situation is under control.
"The number of cases has been high this time but there have been only seven deaths due to dengue. The cases are from various districts besides Jaipur like Karauli and Hindaun. Twenty deaths have been due to malaria," state Health Minister, Digamber Singh said.
Meanwhile, the situation in Pune is no different with dengue already claiming its first victim on Saturday.
"This is the peak season when dengue spreads. Though, we have had one death in this case, we have seen about 100 cases in the last three months," consulting physician, KEM Hospital, Pune, Dr Rajesh Gatia said.
An alert has been sounded in Jammu and Kashmir also after a dengue case was reported from Surankote village near Poonch.
And Punjab's Health Department, too, is gearing up to tackle the menace with Chandigarh and Amritsar confirming two and five dengue cases respectively.
"We will be meeting with the health ministers of the dengue affected states on October 5 and chikungunya affected states on October 11," Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Anbumani Ramadoss said.
With various parts of the country being stung by the dengue outbreak, the real test will be for the hospitals and the health machinery.
(With bureau inputs)
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