Swine flu claims 47 more lives across India, toll 1,674

Swine flu has claimed the lives of 47 more people in the country as the death toll rose to 1,674 while the number of persons affected by the H1N1 virus exceeded 29,000.

The Union health ministry on Saturday said that as on March 13, a total of 1,674 deaths have been reported from across the country while the total number of infected persons has risen to 29,103.

The ministry data had on Friday said that till March 12, 1,627 people have died due to the disease while the number of those affected stood at 28,441.

Samples of six persons, suspected to have been infected with swine flu, have been sent to the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, from Mizoram since last month, state officials said.

In Gujarat, the highest number of 375 people have died while the number of affected cases was 6,032.

In Rajasthan, another worst affected state, the swine flu death toll has climed to 372 while the number of affected persons has risen to 6,154.

The total number of casualties was 277 in Maharashtra while those affected rose to 3,304. The death toll in Madhya Pradesh reached 230 while 1,834 people have been affected.

In Delhi, 11 people have died while the number of cases rose to 3,914.

The deadly virus has killed 51 people in Punjab, 69 in Telangana, 45 in Haryana, 35 in Uttar Pradesh, 18 in West Bengal, 71 in Karnataka, 15 in Jammu and Kashmir, 11 in Chhattisgarh and 20 in Andhra Pradesh.

A new study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has said that the swine flu virus in India may have acquired mutations that make it more severe and infectious than previously circulating H1N1 strains.