India’s H1N1 death count touches 1309
POSTED February 16, 2010 - 17:42 | POSTED BY Neharika Sabharwal
Last edited by Kangna Agarwal on February 16, 2010 - 17:56
With four more succumbing to the virus Monday, the death toll in the country surged ahead touching1,309.
According to official sources, no fatalities were reported today from any state across the nation. However, the four deaths registered yesterday, three from Karnataka, and one from Madhya Pradesh had occurred earlier but confirmed as H1N1 related to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare today by the respective states.
H1N1 related fatalities across the nation
In the state-wise death count, Maharashtra topped the list with 343 deaths followed by Gujarat where 268 lives have been lost.
Meanwhile, 186 died in Rajasthan, 144 in Karnataka, 95 in Delhi, 52 in Andhra Pradesh, 39 in Punjab, 37 each in Kerala and Haryana, 25 in Madhya Pradesh, 18 in Uttar Pradesh, 13 in Uttarakhand.
The H1N1 related fatalities in the other states included eight each in Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh, seven each in Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh, six in Puducherry, five in Goa, four in Jammu & Kashmir, three in Orissa, two in Assam, and one each in Mizoram and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
Emergence of new infections
Health officials disclosed that 24 fresh cases of the contagion surfaced Monday from different parts of the country.
These included the maximum from Maharashtra accounting for16 infections, while two each emerged in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and one each in Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
According to the latest bulletin released by the health ministry, the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases of the influenza throughout the country has gone up to 29,337 so far.
H1N1 on decline but not out
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed at least 15,292 H1N1 related deaths from more than 212 countries, and overseas territories and communities as of Feb. 7.
Although, the H1N1 pandemic was showing signs of declining, the WHO stated the virus had not disappeared yet with some activity still evident in Northern Africa, Eastern Europe, and Eastern Asia.
Additionally, the virus had made its way to Western Africa, specifically Senegal, which reported 14 cases.
However, at the end of this month a committee of scientists will meet to determine whether the pandemic has entered into a transitional period, which is indicative that the flu outbreak is near.
