Deaths from Swine Flu are on the Rise in India, Government Says It is Prepared

The Indian government on Sunday said that it was closely monitoring the spurt in swine flu cases in the country even as 11 more deaths due to the disease were reported in Rajasthan, one of the worst-hit states. A senior health ministry official said, "We are closely monitoring the crisis situation very closely and are in touch with health authorities of the states most affected by the disease."

While three people each died in Jaipur and Jodhpur, there were two casualties in Ajmer followed by one each in Nagaur, Bharatpur and Kota.

Gujarat and Rajasthan have witnessed the maximum number of deaths so far due to swine flu while Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana, too, have been significantly affected by the disease.

According to a study, the disease outbreak in Rajasthan and Maharashtra is expected to result in a loss of Rs 5,500 crore to tourism and aviation industries. The toll till Saturday in Gujarat was 136 even as the authorities reported 130 new cases.

The Telangana government says, a total of 3,045 samples were tested, of which 1,006 were found to be positive. The number of deaths due to swine flu and other complications stood at 46 in the state.

In 2014, there were 937 reported cases of swine flu in India and the disease had claimed 218 lives. The health ministry had said that the countrywide toll due to swine flu reached 485 till February 12, 2015, which is already more than double the number of deaths reported in the whole of 2014.

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Source-Medindia