Story highlights Official: State-run hospitals in New Delhi are overrun

At least 1,872 patients have tested positive for the illness this year

New Delhi (CNN) India's capital is combating its worst outbreak of dengue fever in five years, with the tropical mosquito-borne disease posing a momentous challenge to the city's creaky health infrastructure.

State-run hospitals in New Delhi are overrun with feverish patients, municipal spokesman Y.S. Mann said.

"There is a sense of panic. People insist on hospitalization even if symptoms are mild," he said.

Still, the number of dengue cases recorded in Delhi are the highest in five years. At least 1,872 patients have tested positive for the illness this year so far, compared to 1,695 in 2010, Mann said. Seven of them have died in recent weeks.

Television footage showed patients sharing beds in government hospitals as New Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal made surprise checks at crowded wards.

Read More