Three more dengue deaths in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow -- Three more people died of dengue fever in Uttar Pradesh, taking the death toll in the state to 11. The number of those affected has risen to 360.

Despite efforts by the health authorities to check spread of the mosquito-borne disease in the state, as many as 78 new cases have been detected in the past two days.

"We do not rule out the possibility of more dengue-affected patients being admitted in private hospitals," said an official spokesman.

At present, 32 districts are affected by dengue, including Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Noida, Muzaffarnagar, Kanpur and Agra.

Coxackie-B, the other killer virus that had taken as many as 202 lives in the state in the past six months, continues to affect parts of poverty-ridden districts in the eastern region.

However, the other viral, chikungunya, which has affected several other states, has not spread much in Uttar Pradesh with only four positive cases detected so far.

Significantly, the mosquito-borne Japanese Encephalitis which had taken more than 1,500 lives in 2005 in the state, is stated to be "well under control".