Swine flu claims 64 lives in Punjab, Haryana in 2013

Chandigarh: Swine flu has claimed 64 lives in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh since January 1, officials said on Tuesday.

While 29 people have died in Punjab so far, the H1N1 virus has claimed 30 lives in Haryana while five succumbed to the disease in Chandigarh Union Territory.

Most of the deaths in Punjab, which has witnessed 127 positive cases, have occurred in Mohali, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Sangrur and Barnala districts, Punjab's Nodal Officer for swine flu cases, Deepak Bhatia said in Chandigarh.

In Chandigarh, three of the five who died hail from Manimajra town, Chandigarh's Nodal officer, Dr Naresh Kumar said.

He, however, said that during past few days there has been a decline in number of positive cases.

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Like Punjab, neighbouring Haryana, too, was on high alert in view of the rising number of H1N1 cases.

According to officials, from January 1 till date, Haryana has seen 30 deaths due to swine flu while total number of positive cases so far stood at 198.

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A maximum of five deaths have been reported from district Sirsa, four each from Panchkula, Faridabad and Karnal, three each from Bhiwani and Kurukshetra, two each from Gurgaon and Jind and one each from Fatehabad, Hisar, Kaithal, they said.

Officials of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Health Departments said effective measures have been taken to check the spread of H1N1 virus.

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