Swine flu: 83 deaths in past one week

New Delhi: The number of swine flu cases in the country is rising with 942 people testing positive for the influenza A (H1N1) and 83 deaths reported during the last week, the highest for the current year.

According to the health ministry, the highest number of deaths (51) were reported from Maharashtra followed by 12 from Karnataka and seven from Gujarat. Andhra Pradesh reported six deaths, and Orissa two while one person each died in West Bengal, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Goa and Uttar Pradesh.

Maharashtra reported the highest number of 400 cases during the week Aug 2-8, followed by Karnataka with 200 cases. Delhi reported 106 cases while Andhra Pradesh reported 105 cases followed by 36 cases from Tamil Nadu.

According to the health ministry, 1,833 deaths have been reported due to swine flu since its outbreak in May last year while 329 deaths have taken place since May this year.

Till date, samples from 154,259 persons have been tested for influenza A (H1N1) in government laboratories and a few private laboratories across the country and 36,240 of them have been found positive.