Mangaluru : A large number of nursing students and Health Department personnel took part in a rally to create awareness on dengue, malaria and other vector-borne diseases here on Monday. The rally was part of programmes conducted on the occasion of National Dengue Day.

While 465 persons from the district were found dengue positive in 2015, 74 were found positive in the last five months. Across the State, there were 5,077 cases in 2015 and 468 in the last five months.

Flagging off the rally, Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader said with pre-monsoon showers gaining strength, there would be an increase in the number of dengue and malaria cases. He asked people to always take precautions by using mosquito nets and body creams, and by regularly cleaning containers with water.