Four more die of swine flu in Telangana, Andhra

Four more people died of swine flu in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Saturday, officials said.

While three people died at the government-run Gandhi Hospital here, one woman succumbed at Ongole in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.

With this, the toll in Telangana rose to 27 and in neighboring state to three this month.

Three people including two women died at Gandhi Hospital, which is the state nodal centre for swine flu in Telangana. The deceased include a 35-year-old pregnant woman.

Doctors said 35 people including 12 children are undergoing treatment at the hospital.

The medical and health department, in its bulletin, said out of 107 samples tested for H1N1 virus Friday, 26 were found positive.

The number of positive cases reported in the last six days are however showing a declining trend. The number has come down from 49 to 26.

During January, 1,581 samples were tested and 549 were tested positive.

Andhra Pradesh reported a suspected swine flu death Saturday. An elderly woman died at a hospital in Ongole, taking the toll in the state to three.

However, Health Minister K. Srinivas Rao put the toll at two. He said so far 32 cases were reported from 13 districts.

The minister said in a statement that the health authorities remain on alert and are taking all steps to prevent the spread of swine flu. He said with the rise in temperature, the number of cases is coming down.