An increase in the incidence of chikungunya has been reported in certain pockets in the Ratnapura district and the Epidemiology Unit of the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry has taken precautionary measures to prevent an epidemic, the chief government epidemiologist Dr. Nihal Abeysingha said yesterday. "We have found seven chikungunya cases out of 14 samples tested in Eratna in the Ratnapura district. The patients have been treated at the OPD and there is no cause for panic as the disease is not life-threatening,' he said.

a new diagnostic kit can distinguish dengue from chikungunya virus faster. Developed by the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvanantha

Delhi 2020: They are already calling it the year without winter. From January itself, temperatures across northern India have soared to 35 degrees Celsius. Much of the Gangetic plain has been transformed into one vast dust bowl. The wheat crop has failed and farmers are committing suicide by the droves. Food riots have broken out as the government is no longer able to control the distribution.

dengue took a heavy toll on India in mid-2006 (see box

According to official figures, 3,000 people were afflicted with dengue and 50 succumbed to it. Most cases occurred in Delhi and Kerala. However, the disease also struck Maharashtra and Orissa.

delhi is in the grips of a severe outbreak of dengue, which has claimed a number of lives. Dengue cases started being reported in the capital since early September, but the issue came into focus

after the monsoon deluge, Mumbai has witnessed an outbreak of diseases such as malaria, dengue and leptospirosis, taking the death toll to 68 on August 2. The pace at which people are dying is