Karnataka, which is witnessing its worst dengue outbreak in a decade, has declared the disease an epidemic. As part of the measures, the state government will levy penalties if rules meant for the curtailment of mosquito breeding sites are not followed in houses, commercial establishments and construction sites.
The state has seen a surge in dengue cases with the number for this year crossing 24,500, which is nearly 5,000 more than the total number of cases reported for all of 2023. The fatalities have not been very high but sources said the government wanted to act before the number of deaths began to rise.