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Chikungunya affects a 1000 people in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district

Chikungunya affects a 1000 people in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district

Written by Admin |Published : July 1, 2012 7:50 AM IST

According to official sources, over 1000 people in three blocks of Jalpaiguri district were affected by a sudden outbreak of chikungunya in the last two months. Approximately 500 people fell ill the past few days alone in the Madarihat, Kalchini and Dhupguri blocks of the district, the sources said.

The symptoms confirmed chikungunya outbreak which is caused by Aedes aegypti mosquito due to the habit of labourers of tea garden to keep stored water for drinking as stagnant water gives birth to the larvae. A medical team was sent to the area and ailing persons were taken to the local health centre and hospitals. Unconfirmed reports suggest that eight deaths had been reported in the area in May-June though the health department refused to confirm if they were felled by any mosquito-borne disease.