Swine flu claims another life in Bengal

The death toll fro, swine flu in West Bengal rose to nine as a city resident succumbed to the deadly disease early Friday, a health official said here.

"She is a resident of Kolkata aged 32 years and had reported the H1N1 virus. Earlier, she was in a nursing home from where she was admitted to Fortis hospital where she died early (Friday) morning," the state's health services director B.R. Satpathy said.

He said so far, of the nine deaths reported in the state, five are from the metropolis, three from 24 Parganas (N) and one from Maharashtra.

"The patient from Maharashtra aged nearly 30 years had come to the state for treatment where he died early February," Satpathy told IANS.

Asked over the situation of the disease in the state, he said: "The situation is under control and we are implementing a standard operating procedure to contain its spread and detection."

According to the official, the new procedure helps early detection and categorisation of the disease.

The total number of affected people in the state has risen to 189.