84 H1N1 deaths in India in past one week: Govt.

As many as 84 people have died of influenza A (H1N1) in India in the week ended August 15, an official statement from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare said here today.

With this, the toll in the country since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the swine flu as a pandemic in mid-June last year to 1945.

The WHO, on August 10, declared an end to the pandemic but called for continued vigilance, pointing out that pandemics, like the viruses that cause them, are unpredictable.

Of the 84 deaths, 51 occurred in Maharashtra, 7 each in Karnataka and Delhi, 5 each in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, 4 in Kerala, 2 in Uttar Pradesh and 1 each in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan.

Besides, delayed information about 26 deaths caused by the virus earlier - 14 in Maharashtra and 12 in Karnataka - was received by the Ministry during the week, the statement said.

A total of 1155 fresh cases of the flu were reported during the week, including 507 in Maharashtra, 186 in Karnataka, 125 in Delhi, 107 in Tamil Nadu and 99 in Andhra Pradesh, the statement added.

NNN