3 more H1N1 deaths in India, toll rises to 481

Three more persons have died of influenza A (H1N1) in India, taking the total number of deaths due to the pandemic in the country so far to 481, an official statement said.

One death was reported from Kerala during the day. Besides, one death reported earlier in the state and another in Kerala have now been confirmed as cases of swine flu, the statement said.

Of the total deaths so far, Maharashtra now accounts for 206, while 117 lives have been lost in Karnataka, 49 in Andhra Pradesh, 40 in Gujarat, 19 in Kerala, 16 in Delhi, 7 in Tamil Nadu, 6 in Puducherry, 5 in Haryana, 4 in Goa, 3 each in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, 2 in Rajasthan and 1 each in Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Punjab.

The statement said 78 new cases of the flu were reported from across the country today, including 23 in Delhi, 14 in Haryana, 12 in Maharashtra, 8 in Kerala, 7 in Karnataka, 5 in Uttar Pradesh, 4 in Orissa, 3 in Tamil Nadu and 1 each in Goa and Himachal Pradesh.

With these, the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases of the virus reported in the country so far has gone up to 14,340, the statement added.

NNN