Swine flu toll touches 2,153 as 12 more succumb

Twelve more persons succumbed to swine flu as the toll from the disease touched 2,153 and the number of affected persons inched towards the 35,000-mark.

According to the Union Health Ministry, till yesterday, a total of 2,153 lives have been lost to the disease while the number of affected persons has climbed to 34,912.

In the worst-hit state of Gujarat, the death toll is 439 with 6,558 people having been affected by the H1N1 virus since January.

In Rajasthan, the toll has reached 428 while the number of affected persons is 6,664.

Twelve people have died of swine flu in Delhi, which has seen 4,254 cases of the disease.

Swine flu fatalities in Maharashtra stood at 440 while, in Madhya Pradesh, the toll was 312 with 4,826 and 2,243 persons having been affected by the disease, respectively, in the two states.

In Karnataka, swine flu has killed 85 people and affected 2,906 while Punjab has seen 56 casualties with the neighbouring state of Haryana reporting 53 deaths due to the H1N1 virus. Uttar Pradesh has recorded 44 deaths while 26 people have succumbed in West Bengal.

The toll climbed to 24 in Himachal Pradesh and stood at 23 each in Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Twenty people have died of swine flu in Jammu and Kashmir.

The disease has claimed the lives of 78 persons in Telangana, where 2,309 persons have been affected.

The toll in Kerala has climbed to 18 while Uttarakhand has reported 12 deaths.

A recent study claimed that about 65% of the people who died of swine flu at the SMS Hospital and College in Jaipur in January and February also demonstrated a "high risk factor" and they all suffered from other diseases, including diabetes, TB and chronic lung disorder.