swine-flu1Seven people including four from Kerala died of swine flu Wednesday taking India’s toll due to influenza A (H1N1) to 366, the health ministry said.

Two deaths were reported from Karnataka and one from Maharashtra. With these deaths the death toll in Kerala went up to nine, while Maharashtra’s toll stands at 148 and Karnataka’s 103.

Authorities in Karnataka said an 18-year-old boy died in a government hospital and a 38-year-old woman succumbed to the flu in a private hospital, both in Bangalore.

Details of the casualties in Kerala and Maharashtra were not available.

With approaching winter, experts fear the swine flu pandemic might rise further.

‘People should take all preventive measures, which include avoiding crowded places and maintaining personal hygiene. People with swine flu symptoms should immediately check with doctors and get needful tests done,’ Karnataka Principal Secretary for Health I.R. Perumal told IANS.

Out of the 103 swine flu deaths reported in Karnataka, 70 were registered in Bangalore and rest from other parts of the state.

The country also reported 101 fresh cases of swine flu. Of these, 46 were from Maharashtra, 29 from Delhi and 14 from Haryana.

Among the states, Maharashtra is number one with a total of 3,152 cases, followed by Delhi, which has nearly 3,000 cases of swine flu.

43 positive swine flu cases in Delhi

New Delhi: According to the news reports at least 43 people tested positive for swine flu virus here on Tuesday in New Delhi.26 of them are children and now the total number of clinically confirmed H1N1 swine flu cases in the city to the 2963 mark.

Kiran Walia, Delhi Health Minister said, “A total of 43 positive cases of H1N1 influenza have been identified today. Of these, 26 samples were of children alone.”

“Till date 1561 children have been infected by H1N1 virus,” she said.

Walia said that till date 2963 cases have tested positive for swine flu virus. More than 90 per cent patients have been successfully treated and discharged.

She said the situation is under control and the government is doing its best in providing treatment to H1N1 patients in government hospitals.