Thiruvananthapuram: Dengue and viral fever are spreading in Kerala at an alarming rate, creating panic among people, claiming 104 lives in the last six months.

Since the onset of the monsoon this month, 19 persons had lost their lives due to dengue fever and 321 confirmed cases had been reported, additional director (health), P K Sivarajan said.

The official death figures due to dengue fever in Kerala during the last six months was 24, he said.

He said the death of a nine-year old boy at the government run SAT hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on June 24 had been confirmed to be due to dengue.

Though fever cases had been reported from all over Kerala, the worst affected districts were Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Idukki districts, he said.

Sivarajan said a massive cleaning and awareness campaign had been launched all over the state, since mosquitoes were the carriers of dengue fever virus. Panchayats would initiate vector and rodent control programmes. Special awareness classes would be held and publicity materials released, he added.

PTI