Swine flu claims 47 more lives in India

Swine flu has claimed the lives of 47 more people in India as the death toll rose to 1,674 and the number of persons affected by the H1N1 virus exceeded 29,000. The Health Ministry of India on Saturday said that as on March 13, a total of 1,674 deaths have been reported from across the country while the total number of infected persons has risen to 29,103. The Ministry data on Friday said that till March 12, 1,627 people died due to the disease while the number of those affected stood at 28,441. Samples of six persons, suspected to have been infected with swine flu, have been sent to the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, from Mizoram since last month, State officials said. In Gujarat, the highest number of 375 people have died while the number of affected cases was 6,032. In Rajasthan, another worst affected State, the swine flu death toll climbed to 372, while the number of affected persons rose to 6,154. In Delhi, 11 people have died while the number of cases rose to 3,914.A study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has said that the swine flu virus in India may have acquired mutations that make it more severe and infectious than previously circulating H1N1 strains.