Indian dengue toll climbs to 38

The government wants more awareness of Dengue fever

An outbreak of dengue fever has so far killed 38 people in and around the Indian capital, Delhi, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has said.

He was speaking after urgent talks with top officials to co-ordinate efforts to tackle the outbreak of the disease.

Nearly 3,000 dengue cases have been reported, three of them close relatives of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

But health officials are playing down the threat, telling people not to panic and to develop better sanitation.

Easily cured

"Definitely, we are tackling the situation and this is not an epidemic and in the next few days we can expect the number of cases to reduce," Mr Ramadoss said.

The situation is being controlled. There is no need to panic Indian Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss

"The situation is being controlled. There is no need to panic.

"The cases this year are much less than the past and all steps are being taken to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes."

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease which affects Indians every year in the weeks following the monsoon, when mosquitoes breed in pools of stagnant water.

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says that is easily cured but can be fatal if not treated in time.

In his meeting with senior officials, Mr Ramadoss stressed the need to improve sanitation and said public and private institutions would be penalised if they allowed mosquitoes to breed on their premises.

Growing concern

The government is planning to step up its publicity drive to spread awareness and is also offering free tests at public hospitals.

Health workers have stepped up measures in Delhi

But many people in India are alarmed after reports that the prime minister's grandchildren and a son-in-law were being treated in hospital for possible dengue fever.

Our correspondent says that despite the growing concern, fewer people have died this year compared to 2005, when more than 150 people were killed.

Meanwhile, the southern state of Kerala is battling what it says is a massive outbreak of another mosquito-borne infection - chikungunya disease.

Up to 20,000 people are affected in the worst-hit district of the state, authorities say.

The state government has said that of 70 deaths so far in the fever outbreak, most are suspected to have been caused by chikungunya.

The virus, for which there is no vaccine, has not previously been thought to cause fatalities.