The swine flu situation continues to be serious in the four southern states and Maharashtra, which have reported 319 of the 330 H1N1 infections in the last one week, while a boy died of the virus in New Delhi.

Swine flu has claimed 17 lives across the country since July 5 and Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu continue to be the worst affected states, according to official figures. According to the health ministry, both Maharashtra and Kerala reported eight deaths each while one was reported from Andhra Pradesh. Kerala had the highest number of 178 confirmed reports of swine flu. Maharashtra follows with 91 cases while Karnataka has 19, Andhra Pradesh 18, and Tamil Nadu 13. The number of infections are, however, lower than the previous week as 370 cases were reported between June 28 and July 5.

The infection was reported from the eastern part of the country for the first time this week with seven cases in West Bengal. The national capital received a jolt with a death being reported due to swine flu. At least seven cases have been reported from New Delhi since June 10. "There have been seven cases since June 10, but all patients have picked up the infection from out of Delhi," a health official said.

One death was reported from Ram Manohar Lohia hospital Friday. "The last case was of the boy from Ghaziabad who died in a Delhi hospital but he had got the infection from out of Delhi," the official said, adding that the government was fully prepared to deal with the H1N1 virus.

Since the outbreak of swine flu in May last year, India has recorded 33,783 cases of the disease so far while a total 1,624 deaths have been reported.

Twenty-five more people, including 13 children and one pregnant woman, tested positive for swine flu on Friday, taking the total number of positive H1N1 cases in the city this month to 250. While 100 cases of swine flu were registered in the month of June, the number of people who tested positive for the H1N1 virus from July 1 to 16 has
already touched 250.

But this shouldn’t be a cause for concern, said Dr GT Ambe, executive health officer, BMC.

“About 30 per cent of the city’s population has developed antibodies to the H1N1 virus, which is already in the air. It’s just like any other flu. But people in the high-risk categories should be over-cautious,” said Ambe.

As long as patients are administered Tamiflu, there is no cause for concern, he added. “Frankly, one needn't bother about throat swab testing for swine flu either, if the patient has been put on a course of Tamiflu,” said Ambe.

Among other rain-related illnesses, civic hospitals recorded 99 cases of malaria, 96 cases of gastroenteritis, one case of leptospirosis and 252 cases of fever.

Between July 1 and 15, BMC health workers also visited 609 construction sites in the city and tested blood samples of 7,166 construction workers, who had fever, for malaria.

Of these, 351 people were administered anti-malarial drugs, while 6,964 people were administered presumptive treatment for malaria.