PTI
 
New Delhi, Oct 31: Twelve more people, including six in the national capital, succumbed to deadly dengue taking the death toll in the country to 164 on Tuesday even as 352 fresh cases of the mosquito-borne disease were reported.

"Twelve people died in the country till noon on Tuesday," P L Joshi, director of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, told PTI.

Altogether 8,951 people have been infected with the viral disease in the country, said Joshi. Authorities have confirmed 154 deaths.

In 2005, 157 people had succumbed to dengue, while 11,985 had been affected.

Joshi said out of the six deaths reported from Delhi, two each are at AIIMS and St Stephens Hospital. One death each has been reported from GTB and LNJP hospitals.

The national capital registered 67 deaths till Tuesday, while 58 fresh cases were reported, taking the total number of affected people in Delhi to 2,640.

Health officials said the dengue deaths could be attributed to the fluctuating day temperatures that were ideal for the virus-carrying mosquitoes to breed.

Joshi said the temperature has to go below 16 degree Celsius for the dengue-carrying mosquito to die a natural death.

"The temperature during the day normally hovers between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. This is the ideal range for the breeding of the Aedes aegypti mosquito," he said.