West Bengal dengue toll 136

As many as 136 fresh dengue cases have been reported across West Bengal since Tuesday, taking the total number of those affected by the disease to over 2000, official sources said in Kolkata.

The mosquito-borne disease has afflicted altogether 2,161 people since its outbreak in August. Kolkata alone accounted for 1,411 cases, sources said.

The disease has claimed 19 lives and the administration is taking preventive steps to deal with the situation firmly, they added. A team of the Indian Council of Medical Research, Pune, which visited the dengue affected areas, is expected to submit its report to the health department soon.

City Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, refusing to accept state Health Minister Suryakanta Mishra's view that dengue had taken an epidemic turn, however, admitted that 70 per cent of the areas in the city were dengue-prone.