Madhya Pradesh: Swine Flu claims 44 lives since July 1

The swine flu toll in Madhya Pradesh has risen to 44 with five patients each dying in Bhopal and Indore districts due to the deadly virus.

According to Madhya Pradesh's health services director Dr. K L Sahu, the number of positive cases reported from different districts is 226.

Sahu said that the HINI virus has taken 44 lives in the state since July 1. Indore and Bhopal districts have reported the highest number of deaths thus far. Three swine flu patients each have died in Jabalpur and Sagar, while the remaining have succumbed to the disease in other districts of the state.

The director added 45 positive cases of swine flu was found in Bhopal while 36 such cases were detected in Jabalpur. Indore reported 17 positive cases during the period.

Swine Flu cases were also reported from Ujjain, Sagar, Gwalior, Damoh, Shahdol, Satna and some other districts of the state.

The state government is running an awareness campaign because prevention can help keep a check on the spread of the disease, as per K L Sahu. Isolation wards have been developed in all the district hospitals of Madhya Pradesh in order to combat the situation.

Rustum Singh, who is the State Public Health and Family Welfare Minister has issued orders to open swine flu testing laboratories in major cities of the state.

The testing labs are located in Gwalior, Jabalpur and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhopal.