14 dead in Ludhiana due to swine flu

Swine flu cases in the country are on the rise with as many as 14 people dead in Punjab's Ludhiana district till now.

"We have received 69 suspect cases so far out of which 36 are confirmed and six people of Ludhiana itself (out of 14) have died," said civil surgeon Parminder Singh.

He added, "On the whole 14 people from different places have died in Ludhiana. Our teams are conducting campaigns all over Ludhiana and making people aware of swine flu. We are going to slums and schools and distributing pamphlets. One reason behind the growing number of cases is the cold weather."

As many as 88 deaths have occurred between January 1 and February 5 due to swine flu in Rajasthan, including 26 deaths in Jodhpur district itself which is the highest in the state.

In Himachal Pradesh, as many as 16 people have died.

Swine flu cases generally rise in the winter season and a majority of people contract the disease in the month of December and January.

Swine flu is an infection caused by one of several swine influenza viruses (SIV), with the H1N1 strain being the most common across the country.

H1N1 virus spreads when an individual touches an infected person or breathes droplets of coughs and sneezes that are in the air.

Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Maharashtra are among the states that have been majorly affected by the viral respiratory condition.