Theatre personality from Agra dies due to dreaded disease

Thirty more persons, including a noted theatre personality, have died due to swine flu in the country taking the toll over the 1,300 mark. Union Health Ministry data said 1,319 persons have perished due to the disease while the number of persons affected across the states stood at 24,661 as on March 6. The Ministry had on Friday said that 1,289 had died while the number of those affected by it across the states was 23,922 as on March 5 this year. Noted theatre personality and former HoD, foreign languages department of Agra University, Jitendra Raghvanshi died of swine flu on Saturday at a Delhi hospital. He was also an active member of CPI.

Health Ministry data for different states showed that the highest number of deaths due to the disease was in Gujarat at 324 while 5,411 persons have been affected by it. Rajasthan came second with 305 deaths and 5,898 persons affected. In Maharashtra, the number of deaths was 201 while that of those affected was 2,386, followed by Madhya Pradesh 186 deaths and 1,389 affected.

Although the number of deaths in Delhi remained at ten (of only residents of Delhi), the city witnessed a rise in the number of persons affected by it as it reached 3,417.

In Karnataka, as many as 1,707 people have been affected by swine flu while the death toll has reached 55 while in Telangana, the numbers were 1,731 affected and 61 deaths.

One more person succumbed to swine flu in Kashmir, taking the toll to nine, while 67 more patients have tested positive for H1N1 virus, health officials there said.