Swine flu deaths continued unabated in the country claiming 21 more lives on Monday taking the total toll 833 and number of people affected by it crossed the 14,000 mark.
With the rising temperatures, the Union Health Ministry officials said the swine flu cases are likely to come down in the next few days. Besides, measures taken to ensure timely availability of the medicines like Tamiflu will also help curb the disease.
VM Katoch, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said, “The cases are likely to be stabalised in the few weeks in view of change in weather. Moreover, people are now more alert about the disease and taking timely medical treatment.”
According to the Health Ministry data, till February 22, as many as 833 people have died while 14,484 people have been infected with the H1N1 virus. The maximum death toll was reported from Gujarat with 219 deaths followed by Rajasthan (214 deaths) till February 22. In Rajasthan 4,549 people have tested positive for the virus while in Gujarat the number stood at 3,107.
Tamil Nadu has recorded eight swine flu related deaths while 225 people has been affected by H1N1 virus. In West Bengal, five people have succumbed to the disease and 67 affected so far. In Telengana, 65 new cases of swine flu have been reported while 51 have died due to the deadly virus. In Uttar Pradesh, till now, 280 people have tested positive for H1N1 virus with maximum number of 228 cases reported from the State capital lucknow. Six deaths have been officially reported so far due to the disease.
Swine flu has claimed four more lives in Punjab, taking the death toll to 33 in the State, while in neighbouring Haryana the virus has claimed 20 lives so far this year. The virus has affected 140 people in Punjab while in Haryana positive cases has reached 130. In Kashmir, 138 people have been afflicted with the disease and the toll stands at five.