Washington: The annual number of dengue cases in India is 282 times higher than what is officially reported, and the disease inflicts an economic burden on the country of at least USD 1.11 billion each year, according to a new scientific study published today.

"We found that India had nearly six million annual clinically diagnosed dengue cases between 2006 and 2012 almost 300 times greater than the number of cases that had been officially reported," said Donald Shepard, lead author of the study.