89 H1N1 deaths in India in past one week: Govt.

As many as 89 people have died of influenza A (H1N1) in India in the week ended August 29, an official statement from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare said here today.

With this, the toll in the country since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the swine flu as a pandemic in mid-June last year has gone up to 2113.

The WHO, on August 10, had declared an end to the pandemic but called for continued vigilance, pointing out that pandemics, like the viruses that cause them, are unpredictable.

Of the 89 deaths, 50 occurred in Maharashtra, 14 in Orissa, 6 each in Gujarat and Delhi, 5 in Madhya Pradesh, 4 in Andhra Pradesh, 2 in Punjab and 1 each in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

A total of 1247 fresh cases of the flu were reported during the week, including 335 in Maharashtra, 301 in Karnataka, 250 in Delhi and 80 in Andhra Pradesh.

NNN