Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Monday put the dengue death toll at 47 and said that more than 3,000 people have been affected by the disease across the country.
"So far 47 people died of the disease while around 3,000 people have been affected," Ramadoss told reporters at the airport in Chennai.
Reports had on Sunday said 56 people died of dengue, with Delhi accounting for 22 deaths since its current outbreak.
Ramadoss said diseases like dengue and chikungunya cannot be considered just health issues. "It is also concerning sanitation and environment."
Awareness should be created on keeping the environment clean to avoid breeding of mosquitoes responsible for spreading both the diseases, he said.
The diseases could be treated at home and hospitalisation was needed only if patients developed secondary complications, he said adding, that stagnation of water should be avoided.
On steps being taken to control the disease, he said sufficient medicines had been provided and measures were being taken to control breeding of mosquitoes.
A meeting of state health ministers would be held on October 11 to deliberate on measures to contain chikungunya, he informed.
He also commended the efforts made by the present Tamil Nadu government in controlling dengue and chikungunya.
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