60 died due to malaria this year, 19 due to dengue: J P Nadda

New Delhi: Malaria has claimed the lives of 60 people while 19 people have died due to dengue in the county this year, the government Friday said.

Health Minister J P Nadda informed the Lok Sabha that 2,56,309 malaria cases have been reported across the country till May this year and 60 people have died due to the disease. Last year 535 people had died of malaria.

He said that 15 people each have died of malaria this year in West Bengal and Odisha while 12 have died in Meghalaya.

Nadda also said that 19 people have died of dengue as per data available till June 28 this year while 5,874 cases have been reported.

Noting that there have been no reports of any deaths due to Chikungunya in the country, Nadda said that 5,955 suspected cases have been reported.

Till July 27, 62 deaths have been reported due to Japanese Encephalitis while 391 cases have been registered. Out of the 62, 41 deaths were reported in Assam.

Nadda said that three deaths have been reported due to Kala-azar in the country while 3,681 cases have been reported.

He said that India being a tropical country, six vector-borne diseases - malaria, dengue, chikungunya, Japanese Encephalitis, Kala-azar and Lymphatic Filariasis are reported from various parts of the country.

The reasons, he said, were due to geographical terrain which expose communities to various pathogen, poor solid waste management practices and unplanned urbanisation, climate conditions, poor housing condition and migratory population.