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

New Delhi, Sep 13 (PTI) Union Health Minister J P Naddatoday stressed on the need for close coordination between theCentre and states to deal with the outbreak of chikungunya anddengue, which have affected about 40,000 people in thecountry, even as he said there was no need to panic. He assured all help to states in fighting the spread ofvector-borne diseases and said it should not be an issue forindulging in blame game. "We will try to fulfill all requirements. Whether it isdengue or chikungunya, we should not panic. There is a need togive symptomatic treatment. There is a need to take a lot ofliquid. "We are ready to offer all help to state governments.This is not an issue for the Centre and states to indulge inblame 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 thechikungunya deaths are being probed by its agencies toascertain the exact reasons. Nadda said that his Ministry had recently held a meetingwith Delhi Health minister and various municipal agencies anddirected them to follow all protocols while various otherissues like providing guidelines, arrangemet of beds, trainingof doctors have been provided. He said the Ministry has also put a cap on rates chargedby various testing facilities for the diseases while alltechnical support has been provided to the states to dealwith the situation. As per the National Vector Borne Disease ControlProgramme (NVBDCP), around 27,879 cases of dengue have beenreported across the country and 60 people have succumbed tothe disease till August 31. 5,000 cases each have been reported from West Bengal,Odisha and Kerala. While West Bengal has reported 5,129 denguecases and 22 deaths, the disease has affected 5,183 people andclaimed nine lives in Odisha. AIIMS, Delhi, has reported five "suspected" dengue deathsthis month. The national capital has recorded nine denguedeaths this year. The number of those diagnosed with the virusin the city has risen to over 1,150. Around 12,255 cases of chinkungunya have been reportedacross the country. Karnataka alone has recorded 8,941. Two chikungunya deaths were today reported from thenational capital, taking the number of fatalities due to thevector-borne disease in the city to four while the number ofcases have mounted to over 1,000 this season. Meanwhile, a senior Health ministry official said that atthis moment, there is an "outbreak" situation with regard tochikunguniya. PTI TDSRG