New Delhi: Swine flu claimed the lives of 40 more people in the country as the toll from the disease reached 1,115 while the total number of cases breached the 20,000 mark.
The Health Ministry said that 1,115 persons have succumbed to the H1N1 virus while the number of those affected by it stands at 20,795 on March 1.
With heavy rainfall lashing Delhi and other parts of the north, health officials said it was difficult to ascertain whether the rains will have any effect on the incidence of swine flu.
However, the officials said that, during monsoon, the virus increases and it was possible that whatever decline was being seen over the last few days in the intensity of the disease may not continue. They said that there will be no decrease in the virus due to the rains and added that high temperatures are a deterrent for the virus.
The latest data shows that 275 persons have died of swine flu in Gujarat where 4,614 have so far contracted the disease. In Rajasthan, six more deaths were reported which has taken the toll for the state to 267 while 5,610 persons have been affected by the virus.
The virus has claimed the lives of 160 people in Madhya Pradesh with 1,054 people taken ill by it while in Maharashtra, the death toll has increased to 152 with 1,789 cases reported of swine flu.
In Telangana and Punjab, the disease has, respectively, claimed 57 and 44 lives. Swine flu has also killed 46 persons in Karnataka.
In Delhi, the number of casualties stands at 10 while the count for affected persons has risen to 2,999. States like Haryana (22 deaths), Andhra Pradesh (14), Himachal Pradesh (8), Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala (7 each), too, have been grappling to contain the disease.
