* Text Courtesy IANS

*Images courtesy: © Thinkstock photos/ Getty Images

(IANS) With five people dead and more than 1,200 people affected with dengue, West Bengal Governor M.K. Narayanan Tuesday blamed initial delays on the part of the state administration for the spurt in such cases.

"I had a discussion with the state health secretary; he briefed me on the steps that have been taken to control the situation. I suppose there was some delay, but the situation is now under control, hopefully it is under control," Narayanan said on the sidelines of a programme.

According to state health department data released Monday, the dengue outbreak in West Bengal has affected over 1,200 people. Endemic dengue has already claimed five lives, including two children.

The total number of people afflicted with the mosquito-borne disease has mounted to 1,224, of whom 766 are from the worst-hit Kolkata. All the five deaths have been reported from the metropolis.

The neighbouring North 24 Parganas district has recorded 188 dengue cases.

Seventeen of the state's 19 districts have been hit by the virus that is carried into the human body by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been advising people about the do's and don'ts of the disease, including which medicines to take and what to avoid if they exhibit dengue-like symptoms.

However, both the alliance partner Congress and opposition Left Front have accused the state government of suppressing the real figures of people infected by the dreaded disease.