As per the SIFY news quoting union health ministry, four new swine flu deaths, all of them from Maharashtra State, were reported this Sunday, taking the country's toll due to the contagious virus to 344. With these deaths, the toll in Maharashtra has gone up to 139, the highest among the states in the country. The state sees 7% rise in H1N1 cases in September. The medical officer (epidemic) of the state health services said that throat swabs of only severely ill patients are being tested for the virus since mid-August.
At least 164 fresh infections were reported taking the total number of cases in the country to 10,894. Among the states, Maharashtra has maximum number of cases with 3,024, closely followed by Delhi where around 2,800 people have been infected by the influenza A (H1N1) virus. A study carried out in New Delhi indicated that surgical masks are as good as the costly N95 respirators recommended for preventing the infection.
WHO is actively monitoring the progress of the pandemic through frequent consultations with the WHO Regional Offices and member states and through monitoring of multiple sources of data. As of 27 September 2009, worldwide there have been more than 343,000 laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009 and over 4100 deaths reported to WHO. All pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza viruses analyzed to date have been antigenically and genetically similar to A/California/7/2009-like pandemic H1N1 2009 virus.
Everyone is waiting for an effective and safe vaccine to control the spread of the virus.
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