Swine flu is spreading fast across the country with the killer virus claiming over 1,000 lives so far this year, which is four times more than deaths recorded last year. A total 22,186 cases have been reported across the States till now.
The country had witnessed the worst outbreak of the H1N1influenza in the pandemic years of 2009-10 when the disease killed over 2,700 people and affected around 50,000 others.
According to the data available from the Union Health Ministry, Maharashtra tops the list with 437 people succumbing to H1N1 infections, followed by Gujarat at 269, Kerala at 73, and Rajasthan at 69.
According to the data, India recorded 1,094 swine flu deaths and 22,186 cases till August 20, compared to 265 deaths and 1,786 cases in 2016.
Maharashtra, till August 20, recorded 4,245 cases followed by Gujarat (3,029), Tamil Nadu (2,994) and Karnataka (2,956). Situation in Delhi is also worsening with 1,719 H1N1infections cases being reported so far. Five people have died due to the Swine flu.
As per the data, 342 people have died in August alone as compared to six deaths in the same period last year.
like other strains of the flu, H1N1 is highly contagious, and spreads quickly from person to person. It was declared a pandemic in 2009 by the World Health Organisation.
