9 more die of swine flu in Gujarat, toll climbs to 292

Ahmedabad: Nine more persons succumbed to swine flu in Gujarat Tuesday, raising the toll due to the H1N1 virus to 292 in the state since January this year, an official statement issued by the Gujarat health department said.

Besides the nine fatalities, 138 new cases were also recorded across the state today, taking the total number of cases in Gujarat to 4,904 so far, the statement said.

"Nine swine flu deaths have been reported in Gujarat, of which two are from Ahmedabad and Junagadh districts each while one death each has been registered from Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Amreli and Surendranagar districts of the state," the statement said.

"The death toll has reached 292 since January, while 4,904 cases have been recorded so far," it said.

The Gujarat government also claimed that 3,410 patients have been cured till date.

Ahmedabad is one of the worst-affected districts, which has recorded 81 deaths and 1,683 cases of the flu.

Amidst fear of swine flu, lawyers of Ahmedabad district court went on a five-day leave today due to the swine flu problem.

"As many as 10,000 advocates practising in five courts, including the Ahmedabad district and rural court, metropolitan court, city sessions court, small cause court as well as family court, will not work from March 3 to March 7 due to the swine flu menace in the city," Ahmedabad District Bar Association President Rajesh Parekh told PTI.