Swine flu in Rajasthan: Toll reaches 48 as 5 more die

Jaipur: Five people in Rajasthan have reportedly died on Saturday due to swine flu, taking the death toll to 48 in just the first 19 days of 2019, health officials said.

Two deaths were reported in Jodhpur, two in Udaipur and one in Barmer.

From January 1 to 19, a total of 5,061 samples were tested out of which 1,173 were reported positive.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Raghu Sharma has appealed to the people to contact the nearest hospital to seek medical help as soon as they face flu symptoms.

We have cancelled the leaves of doctors to ensure patients don't face any problems, he added. 

In 2018, 225 people lost their lives to this virus while 2,419 tested positive out of 22,705 samples.

In 2013, 4,173 samples were tested out of which 865 tested positive and 165 deaths were reported in state.

In 2014, the virus was under control as out of 744 samples, only 65 tested positive, however, 34 people succumbed to the virus.

The swine flu virus returned in 2015 as 472 people lost their lives while 6,859 tested positive out of 25,068 samples, said health officials.