Lucknow, Oct 21 : Hospitals in major cities in Uttar Pradesh are brimming with fever patients, mostly vector-borne diseases like dengue. Lucknow has accounted for 1,845 cases so far, the highest in the state, while Kanpur has 1,068 and Moradabad 1,050 cases. The urban development department has also stepped up efforts to control the spread of vector-borne diseases. While the health department is responsible for ensuring treatment of the infected persons, urban development department takes preventive measures to check the outbreak of such diseases. Dastak, a statewide special programme, was launched on October 3 under which volunteers and civic body staff are reaching out to the urban areas to create awareness. However, in the last fortnight, thousands of cases were reported across the state. Ten districts -- Lucknow, Kanpur, Moradabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Aligarh and Kannauj -- have been flagged as sensitive districts where cases are on the higher side. Between October 3 and 17, the local bodies were briefed about 18,621 cases, including nine deaths from 10 districts. Officials said that the actual number of dengue cases and casualties could be more as the complete picture pertaining to admissions in the private hospitals and healthcare centres is not yet known. Principal secretary, urban development department, Amrit Abhijat, said that during the review, Kanpur and Moradabad were found lagging in cleaning the drains and fogging drives. In Lucknow Municipal Corporation areas, cleaning, fogging and antiviral activities are being carried out effectively, while Banda, Sambhal, Ghazipur, Mainpuri were found lacking. Meanwhile, patients complaining of prolonged fever are now making a beeline to private hospitals since government hospitals have expressed their inability to cope with the rush. B K Agarwal, a senior citizen, said, 'My son and wife have been suffering from high fever for over a fortnight and now that their condition shows no signs of improvement, I have got them admitted in a private hospital where charges are exorbitant. We have been turned back from three government hospitals because they have no beds and even stretchers for patients.' /IANS