Swine flu deaths rise to 70 as 8 more die in Rajasthan

Eight people succumbed to H1N1 virus in two days, taking the total number of deaths due to swine flu in Rajasthan to 70, an official said on Saturday. Five persons died on Friday and three died on Saturday, according to the spokesperson of the state medical and health department. As many as 1,787 people have tested positive for the virus from January 1 to 26 in the state, the spokesperson said.

As per the data available, 2,572 swine flu cases were reported across the country with Rajasthan recording 1,508 cases and 56 deaths this year till Thursday. It is followed by Gujarat with 438 cases and eight deaths and Delhi reporting the third highest number with 387 people being infected with the virus. No death has been reported due to the flu in the national capital so far.

With the numbers rising, the health ministry recently held a meeting with the states and asked them to strengthen their surveillance for early case detection along with reserving beds in the hospital to deal with acute cases.

"On the operational side, we have asked the states to reserve some beds in hospitals as in acute cases patients have to be put on the ventilator. They have also been asked to issue advisories for people to take precautions. Also, there is sufficient stock of swine flu drug Oseltamivir and also there is no scarcity of N95 masks," a senior health ministry official said.

Last year, the country reported 14,992 cases and 1,103 deaths due to the flu.