With erratic weather further promoting the spread of the lethal H1N1 virus, there seems to be no let-up in the number of swine flu cases in Maharashtra as the death toll soared to 221, with 60 people dying in less than a week, according to official figures.
10 deaths were recorded on Sunday itself, with 120 people testing positive for the H1NI contagion. According to State health authorities, the number of cases across the State since January has now surged to more than 2,500.
Despite reassuring overtures from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) health officials, the death toll in the city and suburban areas has touched 50 sending the city’s residents into a tailspin of fear.
“The infection is well under control in Pune, even as swine flu cases rise alarmingly in Nashik and Mumbai. Almost 80 per cent of those infected have been successfully treated so far in Pune’s hospitals,” informed S.T. Pardeshi, Chief Medical Officer, PMC, noting that almost half the district’s death toll were patients who had come to the city to undergo treatment.
The average age of the deceased was 50, informed authorities, and said that fresh cases were being reported in the Marathwada region including districts like Aurangabad, Latur and Washim.
At least 35 of the 120 fresh cases across the State are said to be in a critical condition, having been put on ventilator support.
