Swine flu deaths go up in India
09 August 2009
The number of people to die of swine flu in India has risen to five with the death of a number of patients over the weekend, health officials say.
Six patients are reported to be in a serious condition in the western city of Pune, which has recorded more cases than anywhere else in India.
A number of schools in the country have been shut temporarily over fears of children contracting the disease.
Officials say there are more than 800 cases of the H1N1 flu strain in India.
The virus is thought to have killed almost 800 people around the world.
A 53-year-old doctor of indigenous medicine died of the flu in a hospital in Pune early on Monday, taking the number of dead because of the flu to five.
Over the weekend, three people died of the flu in western India - a 43-year-old businessman who was visiting Ahmedabad city in Gujarat state; a 42-year-old teacher in Pune city; and a 53-year-old woman in Mumbai city.
Last Monday, a 14-year-old girl became the first person in the country to die of swine flu.
source: bbc.com