42 chikungunya deaths in Kerala: Minister

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Fortytwo people have died of chikungunya in Kerala since its outbreak in the state about a fortnight back, Health Minister P K Sreemathi said on Friday.

Forty deaths were reported from Cherthala taluk in Alappuzha and two from Thiruvananthapuram, she said.

She denied that she had earlier stated that no deaths have been reported due to the disease.

On Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan's remark that she had been misled by officials, she said, "She was not a person who could be easily misled".

She said the government had submitted a Rs 2.45 crore proposal to the Centre for upgrading the virology institute at Alappuzha on the lines of the institute at Pune.

Medical colleges and hospitals have been instructed to stock enough medicines to treat chikungunya patients, she said.