Eighteen people have died of dengue fever in the Indian state of West Bengal within the past few days. All in all, local hospitals have admitted over 1,000 dengue fever patients, an official said on Sunday. The media thinks that the actual rate of the disease may be much higher, as information from remote areas is slow to come.

Over 80 cases of dengue have been reported from New Delhi. The only efficient way to cure high temperature, headache and metabolic changes characteristic of this disease is a quick blood transfusion.

Mosquitoes, which swarm India after each monsoon season, are carriers of the disease. The heat and high humidity make the mosquito population even larger. Local authorities are trying to localize the dengue fever outbreak.

Source: Agencies