Maha sees 261 swine flu deaths in 2017, with 10 succumbing in Mumbai, 62 in Pune

Mumbai: A total 261 persons in Maharashtra have died due to swine flu so far, of which, 10 passed away in Mumbai. In the entire region, Pune has recorded the highest number of deaths this year at 62.

With swine flu virus proliferating along with monsoon ailments such as dengue, leptospirosis and malaria, state health minister Dr Deepak Sawant on Thursday met with the department of disease control committee, especially to create awareness about swine flu.

During the meet, Dr Sawant stressed on holding swine flu awareness sessions in every district for private doctors, saying this would help in detecting a greater number of cases in the early stages. The same instructions were given to the chairman of the state expert committee to prevent communicable diseases, Dr Subhash Salunkhe, and director of health, Dr Satish Pawar.

Dr Sawant said, “To prevent swine flu and control the virus, a regular survey of patients has been set up in state-district hospitals and medical college hospitals and an isolation cell has been formed for patients. Private hospitals have been warned to treat swine flu patients on priority.”

Sharp hike

This year, there have been 261 deaths and 1,663 cases of H1N1 across the state. From January 2017 to June 27, 2017, tests have been carried out on 7,581 patients with 1,720 confirmed swine flu patients. In 2016, there were 26 deaths and 82 cases.