16 more swine flu deaths in India, toll rises to 898

As many as 16 more people have died of influenza A (H1N1) in India, taking the toll due to the swine flu pandemic in the country so far to 898, an official statement said here today.

Four of the deaths -- two in Maharashtra and one each in Delhi and Rajasthan -- were reported during the day today, the statement said.

Besides, 12 deaths that occurred earlier -- six in Rajasthan, two each in Punjab and Gujarat and one each in Maharashtra and Delhi --have been reported by the respective state governments to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, it said.

Of the total swine flu deaths in the country so far, Maharashtra now accounts for 261, while 139 lives have been lost in Rajasthan, 131 in Karnataka, 88 in Gujarat, 69 in Delhi, 52 in Andhra Pradesh, 32 in Haryana, 31 each in Kerala and Punjab, 10 in Uttarakhand, 9 in Uttar Pradesh, 8 in Madhya Pradesh, 7 in Tamil Nadu, 6 in Puducherry, 5 each in Chandigarh, Goa and Himachal Pradesh, 3 in Orissa, 2 each in Jammu & Kashmir and Chhattisgarh and 1each in Assam and Mizoram.

The statement said 189 new cases of swine flu were reported from different parts of India today, including 95 in Delhi, 34 in Gujarat, 27 in Maharashtra, 20 in Rajasthan, 5 in Karnataka, 3 in Haryana, 2 each in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh and 1 in Uttarakhand.

With these, the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases of the virus reported in the country so far has gone up to 25,572, the statement added.

NNN