Mumbai: Around 60 people have succumbed to the lethal H1N1 virus (swine flu) in the state since July, said health officials on Saturday. Officials said that volatile temperatures have led to a surge in virus-related deaths across northern and western Maharashtra.
The maximum cases of H1N1 have been recorded in Pune. Of all the fatal cases of H1NI reported in the last two months, maximum casualties (30) originated from Pune district, followed by 23 deaths reported in Nashik.
According to reports from Nashik, at least three deaths were reported in the district in the last 24 hours.
The state surveillance officer, Dr Pradeep Awate, said, “More than 600 persons across the state have been tested H1N1 positive, while more than 19,000 persons exhibiting H1N1 influenza-like symptoms have been administered with Tamiflu.”
Medical authorities in Nashik said that a total of 53 patients were currently admitted to the civil district hospital and in private clinics in the district. In Pune city and Pimpri-Chinchwad, which witnessed a month-long spell of relentless showers in August, 10 and 20 cases of persons succumbing to the virus were recorded respectively.
The state witnessed a serious recrudescence of the H1N1 virus in 2015; the reason cited was fresh showers occasioned by intense humidity, with the total death toll exceeding 800, along with a staggering 8,240 cases being recorded that year.
