28 more succumb to swine flu; Number of cases at 32,995

New Delhi, Mar 25: Swine flu claimed 28 more lives as the toll inched towards the 2,000-mark while the number of persons affected by the H1N1 virus across the country touched almost 33,000.

Data collated by the Union Health Ministry said that as as on March 24, 1,975 persons have perished to the contagious disease while the number of people affected across various states now stands at 32,995.

In Gujarat, which is one of the worst-affected states, the swine flu toll has climbed to 417 while the number of affected persons was 6,442.

The desert state of Rajasthan has witnessed 408 deaths while 6,490 persons have been affected by the disease.

The casualty figure in Maharashtra stands at 368 and the state has seen 4,273 people having contracted the H1N1 virus while there have been 291 swine flu deaths in Madhya Pradesh with 2,140 persons being affected. Uttarakhand has registered 12 casualties while in Punjab, the disease has claimed 53 lives.

The toll in West Bengal has risen to to 24 while one more death took has taken the toll to 37 in Uttar Pradesh. While the death of another person has taken the death toll in Jammu to five, 13 persons have died in Kashmir taking the overall toll in Jammu and Kashmir to 18.

In Delhi, the toll has risen to 12 with the number of affected persons at 4,183. In Kerala, the death toll has reached 12 while 16 people have died in Tamil Nadu where a fresh casualty was reported. Andhra Pradesh has seen 22 swine flu fatalities while 20 people have died in Himachal Pradesh.

Haryana has witnessed 49 swine flu deaths with the death toll in Chhattisgarh has increased to 22.

Yesterday, the Health Ministry had said that as on March 23, the disease has killed 1,947 people while 32,663 persons have been affected by it.

PTI