Kolkata, Oct 19 (IANS): The West Bengal government on Wednesday said as many as 31 people have died of dengue in the state while more than 14,500 have tested positive this year.

"As per the report till 4 pm, Wednesday, 14,693 people have been affected by dengue in West Bengal. The number of recorded deaths is 31 so far," Director of Health Services B.R. Satpathy told IANS.

The officer, however, claimed the state government was taking all necessary steps to curb the spread of dengue and conducting mass awareness campaign about the nature and impact of the disease.

"We have taken up mass awareness campaigns in various dengue-prone districts. Also, fever camps are being organised where people having fever can go for free check-ups to determine if they are infected," he said.

The spread of dengue in the state has been a cause for concern, with the opposition parties accusing the state government of efforts to camouflage the outbreak as unknown fever. They have also alleged the state government was pressurising the health clinics and laboratories to suppress reports of dengue infection.

Earlier this month, state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a high-level meeting with the officials concerned from various departments, including Health, Municipal Affairs, Panchayat and others in the state secretariat Nabanna, to take stock of the situation.

Banerjee accused the central government offices of neither allowing the municipal corporation to clean up their premises nor cleaning them up themselves.

She also accused some private laboratories of misguiding patients and creating panic among them.