Swine flu claims another 20 lives, death toll crosses 2,000

The country witnessed 20 more deaths due to swine flu as the toll of the contagious disease climbed to 2,084 and over 34,000 people were still infected by the H1N1 virus.

According to data collected by Union health ministry till on Tuesday, 2,084 people have died due to swine flu while the total number of affected people across various states has risen to 34,240.

Four more persons succumbed to swine flu in Rajasthan, raising the death toll to 423 in the state since January this year, an official said. Of the 6,606 people found positive for the H1N1 virus in the state, 423 have died till Tuesday, an official of the state medical health directorate said in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, the ministry said that the death toll has increased to 433 in Gujarat, which is the worst hit state in the country. A total of 6,528 cases of swine flu have been reported in the state since January.

The death toll in Maharashtra touched 416 while 4,625 people are affected. A total of 300 swine flu deaths have been registered in Madhya Pradesh, where 2,206 people are suffering from the disease.

Karnataka has recorded 85 swine flu deaths with the number of those affected in the state touching 2,813. Telangana has seen 77 people succumbing to the H1N1 virus. In neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana, the toll has reached 53 each.

The death toll in Jammu and Kashmir has increased to 19 after one person died in Kashmir while Uttarakhand has reported 12 casualties so far. The toll in West Bengal has risen to 26 after the death of another person. In Uttar Pradesh, 38 people have died of swine flu.

In Delhi, 12 people have died of the disease while the number of those affected is 4,237.

Andhra Pradesh has registered 22 swine flu deaths while an equal number of people have died in Chhattisgarh. Twenty-two lives have been claimed by the disease in Himachal Pradesh and the toll in Kerala has risen to 14.