By IANS,
New Delhi : Only one swine flu case was reported in India during the last week, the health ministry said Friday.
According to the health ministry’s data, only one case of swine flu was reported in Tamil Nadu between Dec 13 and Dec 19.
“Till date, samples from 202,190 persons have been tested for Influenza A (H1N1) in government laboratories and a few private laboratories across the country and 46,066 (22.8 percent) of them have been found positive,” a health ministry official said.
“No death reported during the week,” the official said.
Swine flu, which has claimed 1,236 lives this year, was at its peak during the monsoon months of May-September. The H1N1 virus which causes the flu needs moisture and heat to grow, said experts.
“The virus needs high temperature and moisture to breed. So with winters approaching the numbers have come down,” he added.
A total of 1,489 flu cases were reported during 2009, the year in which it was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation.
A total of 2,725 lives have been lost in the country to the flu since 2009. Over 45,908 people were affected by the virus during this period.