Mumbai: Swine flu has claimed as many as 221 lives in Maharashtra so far this year with Pune accounting for more than one-fourth of the fatalities, a government official said today.
Four of the victims hailed from adjoining Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (two each) who were admitted to state hospitals, where they succumbed to the infection, according to a report compiled by the Maharashtra health department.
The report has figures related to H1N1 affected patients from January 1 to May 26.
“During this period 15,003 patients showed swine flu like symptoms and were administered medicines as a preventive measure,” Joint Director of Family Welfare Mukund Diggikar said.
Of these patients, 1,106 tested positive for the deadly virus. Among them, 23 were from neighbouring states such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, he said.