Swine flu deaths at 1,895; No. of cases nears 32K mark

New Delhi, Mar 21: Swine flu claimed the lives of 21 more people as the death toll across country rose to 1,895 on Saturday while the total number of affected persons inched towards the 32,000 mark.

According to data collated by the Union Health Ministry, as on March 20, the contagious disease has claimed the lives of 1,895 persons while the number of affected persons across various states stood at 31,974.

In Gujarat, the number of people who have died of the disease has climbed to 407 while the number of affected persons were 6,330. In Rajasthan, which is another of the worst affected states, the death toll inched towards the 400-mark as 398 people perished from the disease while the number of affected persons stood at 6,356.

The Union Health Ministry said that the death toll in Maharashtra rose to 342 with 4,007 people having contracted the H1N1 virus. In Madhya Pradesh, 279 people have perished with 2,069 persons affected. The toll in Telangana has reached 75 while in Karnataka, the death toll has rose to 77.

The death toll in Uttarakhand has reached 11 while in Punjab, the disease has claimed the lives of 53 persons. Another person has died taking the death toll in West Bengal to 24 while the toll has increased to 36 in Uttar Pradesh. Jammu and Kashmir has seen 16 swine flu fatalities.

In Delhi, the toll has risen to 12 with the number of affected persons at 4,137. In Kerala, the death toll has reached 12 while 14 people have died in Tamil Nadu after another person died of the contagious disease. Andhra Pradesh has now seen 22 swine flu fatalities while 20 people have died in Himachal Pradesh.

The disease has claimed the lives of 17 people in Chhattisgarh. Meanwhile, as per a ministry study, 34 per cent of the 723 swine flu deaths that were analysed had occurred in the age group 30-45 years, followed closely by those in the 45-60 bracket, who accounted for 32 per cent of the fatalities.

PTI