Maharashtra: Swine flu claims 185 lives, highest in Pune

Mumbai: Swine flu has claimed as many as 185 lives in Maharashtra so far this year, a government official said here on Wednesday. The highest number of 55 swine flu deaths since January this year were registered in Pune. H1N1 infection has been the cause of death for 185 people in Maharashtra from January 1 till May 8.

There has been a lot of fluctuation in the temperature, which is accelerating the infection," Joint Director of Family Welfare Mukund Diggikar, who holds the additional charge for epidemic diseases in Maharashtra Health Department, said. "There has been a slight variation in the symptoms of H1N1 infection. Earlier, most of the common symptoms were cough, fever and cold. But a sizeable number of recent cases have found other complaints, such as stomach ache, loose motions and sore throat. "These symptoms might have existed earlier, but possibly not reported properly. We will have to wait for more such symptoms to ascertain the connection between these symptoms and H1N1 infection," Diggikar said.

Going by the district-wise figures, Pune has reported 55 swine flu deaths-- the highest in the state, followed by 26 in Nashik district, he said. According to the official, Ahmednagar district reported 17 deaths, while Amravati district in Vidarbha region reported eight deaths so far.

Buldhana has reported seven deaths, while Akola and Solapur have reported five deaths each. Parbhani district in Marathwada has reported three H1N1 casualties. Latur, Beed, Sangli and Dhule districts have reported deaths of two persons each due to the disease. Osmanabad, Jalna, Thane, Hingoli, Jalgaon, Wardha, Washim, Mira Bhayandar municipal corporation (Mumbai suburban district) and Mumbai have reported one death each, he said.

According to Diggikar, in case of some of these 185 swine flu casualties, the districts from where they hailed was yet to be confirmed.