Bengal dengue cases reach 570

Kolkata, Aug 30 (IANS) The number of confirmed dengue cases in West Bengal has gone up to 570, the state health department said Friday.

"The total number of confirmed dengue cases is 570. In Kolkata alone, there are 352 cases of dengue," said a health department statement.

The department had earlier announced that out of the confirmed dengue cases, two patients, including a girl, have died. Nine-year old Sreeja Das was the first dengue victim in the state.

The epidemic had struck in the second week of August.

Several people in and around Kolkata have been hospitalised with symptoms similar to dengue.

The state government is to launch an intense awareness campaign throughout the disease-prone areas and train 142 medical officers of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to tackle the menace, as most of the confirmed cases are reported in the city.

The dengue-prone areas have been divided into category A and B, going by the intensiveness of the disease in the area. Kolkata is under category A and areas of Howrah, Siliguri and Asansol are under category B.