31 more die, toll from swine flu rises to 774

Swine flu deaths continued unabated in the country with 31 more people succumbing to the H1N1 virus even as the total number of affected persons neared the 13,000 mark.
The Health Ministry, however, said that there was no dearth of medicines and hospitals were equipped to deal with the situation.
"The total number of persons affected due to swine flu is 12,963 while the total number of deaths was 774 till February 20 this year," a Health Ministry source said.
Health Ministry data till February 19 showed that the total number of persons infected with H1N1 virus stood at 11,955 while the number of deaths were 743.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh today reported 25 fresh cases of swine flu, taking the number of those infected with the H1N1 influenza to 190 in the state.
Health Minister J P Nadda had yesterday reviewed the swine flu situation in Uttar Pradesh and had assured Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of all assistance.

The Health Ministry had yesterday said that it was also procuring 2000 swine flu vaccines especially for the healthcare workers who are at maximum risk of catching swine flu from patients.
A team of experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also been asked to study patterns in mortality such as which areas, age groups and section of people have been most affected, in addition to deaths due to co-morbid conditions in all the states by collecting random samples.

Concerned over the upsurge in cases, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth had chaired a high-level meeting recently during which he asked the states to ensure setting up of necessary helplines and round-the-clock functioning of outbreak monitoring cells.