At least 45 people have died and more than 5,000 affected by malaria in Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar Districts of North Bengal, senior health department officials said today.
The Chief Medical Officer Health (CMOH) of Jalpaiguri district Bhusan Chakraborty told PTI that 38 people had died of malaria in four blocks of Alipurduar sub-division till June 10.Chakraborty said 3500 samples out of the 7,300 had tested positive for malaria in the district.
The CMOH described Jalpaiguri as most hyper-endemic zone in the country. The situation might turn bad if the outbreak, particularly in Alipurduar Sub-division and adjoining tea gardens and villages, was not not handled properly, he said.
The CMOH of Coochbehar district Sunil Kumar Seel told PTI that till June 14, seven persons fell victims to malaria. Some 1500 people have also tested positive for malaria.
Meanwhile, political leaders of the two districts claimed that acutal malaria death toll was much higher than the government figure. Yesterday RSP MLA, Nirmal Das had told the West Bengal assembly that a large number of people had died of malaria in North Bengal.
Source:PTI News
