A dengue epidemic is sweeping through India's eastern state of West Bengal, killing 15 people in the past three weeks and infecting hundreds of others, authorities said on Tuesday. "The situation is tough. Fifteen people have died and almost 900 are suffering from dengue," Prabhakar Chatterjee, the state's chief health officer, told Reuters. State Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said the outbreak had been declared an epidemic as the number of cases detected was way above normal. Dengue, which is carried by mosquitoes, causes high fever, headache, rash and nausea. If not treated in time, it can lead to death. An uncontrolled encephalitis outbreak in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has killed about 430 people, mostly young children, since early August.
