NEW DELHI: Dengue continued to spread in the capital on Friday with 45 fresh cases of the mosquito borne disease reported, including 30 from the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) campus, taking the total number of affected patients to over 700.
In spite of the government's claim that the "situation is under control", the potentially fatal disease continued to claim new victims, said top health officials.
According to AIIMS authorities, 30 cases had been reported since Thursday.
"We have 30 confirmed fresh cases of dengue till 8.30 a.m. Currently, 114 people are under treatment and 14 have been discharged during the last 24 hours," said AIIMS Medical Superintendent D.K. Sharma.
Of the 114 cases, 26 patients, including students and medical staff, are from the campus. Of the 717 dengue cases reported in the capital, 225 cases are from the AIIMS campus.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's two grandsons - Rohan (11) and Madhav (17) - and his son-in-law Vijay Tankha, a professor at St. Stephens College here, are also in AIIMS with suspected dengue. Their condition was stable, said an AIIMS doctor.
AIIMS has indefinitely postponed the examinations of first and second year MBBS students and cancelled regular classes till Oct 25.
As per directions of the Delhi High Court, the central government, the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will file a status report on steps taken to combat the spread of dengue.
Dengue is caused by the bite of a type of mosquito called aedes aegypti that breeds in stagnant water.
On Thursday, Ramadoss had reviewed the dengue situation in four states - Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The number of dengue cases in the country Thursday was close to 3,000 with Delhi the worst hit with 17 fatalities.
In 2005, nearly 12,000 people were affected across the country and the death toll was 157. This year, over 40 people have succumbed to the disease so far.
