Five more succumb to swine flu in Gujarat; death toll reaches 71

Ahmedabad: With five more persons succumbing to swine flu in Gujarat Saturday, the death toll in the state since January has reached 71, an official statement said.

"Five swine flu deaths were reported in Gujarat today. While there were two deaths in Kutch, one fatality each was reported in Ahmedabad, Amreli and Surat," the statement from Gujarat Government said.

Besides, 70 new swine flu cases were reported Saturday in the state, taking the total number of positive cases to 627 since January 1, the statement said.

Kutch, the worst-affected district in the state, today reported another 10 cases of swine flu. So far the district has had 199 positive cases and 25 deaths due to the H1N1 virus infection.

Ahmedabad district has so far reported 105 positive cases and 13 deaths.

Gujarat Health Minister Nitin Patel today visited the Civil hospital here to take stock of the situation and held talks with doctors on the treatment of patients.

Talking to reporters after the visit, Patel said swine flu cases have been on the rise since the last two weeks and several patients from the neighbouring states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are also undergoing treatment in the city.

"There are 44 patients from Rajasthan and four from Madhya Pradesh, who are being treated in Civil hospital here," Patel said.