Swine flu toll mounts in Bengal, one more succumbs

Swine flu has claimed one more life in West Bengal, taking the toll to 15, an official said on Monday.

As many as 13 fresh H1N1 virus positive cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, he said.

"On Monday, one more death was reported. The state figure for number of deaths is 15 and the total number of cases now is 226," principal secretary for health and family welfare Malay Kumar De told IANS.

Most of the cases were reported from Barasat in North 24 Parganas district and Kolkata while some were reported from Howrah and Hooghly districts.

He said 144 patients have been treated and discharged from various government and private hospitals in the state while 67 are still hospitalised due to the influenza.

According to union health ministry officials, over 21,000 cases of swine flu have been reported in India so far this calendar year, making the number of affected people the highest since 2009 when over 27,236 cases were reported.

With over 5,262 reported cases and 251 deaths between January 1 and February 26, Rajasthan is so far the worst affected state this year.