H1N1 virus (swine flu) mortality rate has risen to 24% in the Indian state of Maharashtra, health officials said.
Among 96 patients in Maharashtra 23 have succumbed to the virus, a Times of India (TOI) report said Thursday.
Maharashtra State Epidemiologist Dr Pradeep Awate said, "The mortality rate has been fairly high, at around 24%. Among the deceased, only about 50% had co-morbid conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. Nagpur city has lost the most number of lives, followed by Pune." Four people tested positive recently in Mumbai. Among them is a 65-year-old resident from the northern suburb of Mulund and a nine-year-old girl from the western suburb of Santa Cruz.
This Tuesday, TOI reported the death of a 61-year-old woman from Palghar town, 87 kms north of Mumbai, in Holy Spirit Hospital in Andheri suburb. Her death is the first H1N1 death in Palghar district in 2015.
Health officials sent blood samples of her family members to National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for investigation.
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai Epidemiologist Dr Mangala Gomare said all patients from the city, barring the senior citizen from Mulund, who is on ventilator, are stable. "A 54-year-old woman admitted to Kasturba Hospital is also doing well," she said.
Jaslok Hospital's Head of Infectious Diseases Dr Om Srivastava said, "Mumbai is always vulnerable to the spread of viruses, given the huge inflow of people and also many trying to access the city's healthcare services." H1N1 virus has claimed 38 lives in Gujarat which shares interstate border with Maharashtra. A patient from Patan district succumbed to the virus last Monday. Kutch district is hit hardest by the current outbreak.
A Press Trust of India report says 39 people tested positive for H1N1 on Sunday.
In January, 37 people died from swine flu in Gujarat. The state has registered nearly 309 swine flu cases and has successfully treated 122.
The virus, which created a global pandemic in 2009, has swept across states, claiming nearly 200 lives in India since January.