The highly contagious H1N1 influenza A virus took forty more lives in India on Thursday taking the total death toll to 703. The Swine flu virus which is spreading rapidly across the country has now penetrated new states like Nagaland and Mizoram crossing a total mark of 11,000 cases in total. Almost 11071 cases show a new high in recent years, with cases increasing in states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana and Delhi.

Rajasthan: Swine flu had also claimed eight more lives in Rajasthan since Wednesday, raising the state's death toll due to the virus to 191 this year. Out of 3,648 patients tested positive for HINI virus, 191 have died since January 1 this year, an official of Medical and Health Directorate (MHD) said. Of the eight deaths, three each were reported from Nagaur and Jodhpur, and one each from Ajmer and Jaipur in last 24 hours, he said. So far, Jaipur has reported maximum deaths, with a toll of 32, due to the H1N1 virus. It was followed by Ajmer 26, Jodhpur 23, Nagaur 21, Barmer 15, Kota 9, Sikar and Chittorgarh 7 each, Banswara 6, Bhilwara, Tonk, Bikaner, Dausa, Jhunjhunu, Pali 4 each, while one to three deaths occurred at other places in the state.

Fruit vendors use masks to protect themselves against Swine Flu virus, in Bikaner, Rajasthan. PTI

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Maharashtra: The Maharashtra government has officially admitted 83 deaths so far due to swine flu. According to the Maharashtra Health Minister, Deepak Sawant, almost 97,248 people suspected to have swine flu were thoroughly checked Since January 1 this year. Admitting 83 swine flu deaths, Sawant said that this includes 31 cases in Nagpur division, with 22 cases in Nagpur city alone. As many as 205 suspected swine flu patients are being treated in various hospitals across the state. The minister also said that there is shortage of swine flu medicines in the state and expressed apprehension that these might be sold in the black market.

An Indian vendor sells face masks for swine flu prevention outside a railway station in Secunderabad. AFP

Gujarat: The deadly virus has claimed nine more lives in the state, taking the death toll to 176 since January this year, according to an official statement released. Around 180 new swine flu cases were recorded across the state till Thursday, taking the total number of such cases to 2,371 so far. Of these nine deaths, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar and Kutch district recorded two deaths each, while one death was recorded in Patan district.

Indian school children wear face masks at school where doctors are performing examinations in Gujarat. AFP

​Also Read: Gujarat: Swine flu claims 9 more lives, toll rises to 176​

Madhya Pradesh: Authorities claimed that as many as 81 people have died of swine flu in Madhya Pradesh this year. Around 961 patients were suspected of being infected by the virus from January 1 to February 16. Out of them, 352 have been tested positive so far.

Delhi: According to Delhi government officials, 1789 swine flue cases have been reported till now and six people have died due to the virus in the city. The city government has ordered all private medical labs not to charge more than Rs 4,500 to carry out tests for the viral disease. The move comes following complaints of several patients that tests are being conducted at exorbitant rates in the city's private labs. The government has granted licence to 40 new drug stores to sell Tamiflu tablets for treatment of swine flu in the capital.

Doctor and relatives of a swine flu patient discuss the details in the national capital. dna

​Also Read: Swine flu: 40 new drug stores granted license to sell Tamiflu in Delhi​

Telangana: Thirty four fresh cases of swine flu have been reported in Telangana, where 46 people have succumbed to the H1N1 virus this year so far. In the current year from January 1 till February 18, 3,571 samples have been tested, out of which 1,162 found to be positive and number of deaths because of other complications and swine flu are 46, according to a bulletin released on swine flu in the state. It added that 108 samples were tested on Wednesday and 34 of them are found to be positive for the virus.

Officers wearing the swine flu protective masks. PTI

Haryana: One more person died of the disease in Haryana on Thursday taking the toll to 18 in the state. The total number of infected people in Haryana due to the H1N1 virus has touched 120 so far.

Punjab: Around 11 fresh cases of swine flu have surfaced in Punjab taking the toll of those tested positive of swine flu to 82, the State Surveillance Officer of Punjab Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, Deepak Bhatia said. So far, 26 persons have succumbed to swine flu in the state. Three persons have succumbed to swine flu so far this year in Chandigarh, with nine patients testing positive. The health officials of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh maintain that the situation is "under control" and hospitals are well equipped to take care of patients.

An Indian relative of a patient receiving treatment waits outside the swine flu isolation ward of the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. AFP

Kashmir: In Kashmir thirteen more persons have tested positive of swine flu, taking the toll of people infected with the disease to 84 health officials said. "Thirteen new patients have tested positive for H1N1 virus and have been admitted to the hospital," Head of Department (HoD) of Medicine, Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Parvaiz Kaul said. The virus has claimed two lives in the valley so far.

A woman wearing a mask to protect herself from Swine Flu as she walks during snowfall in Srinagar. PTI

Uttar Pradesh: Twenty-four more people have tested positive for swine flu in Uttar Pradesh, taking the total figure of those infected by the disease to 165 in the state, officials said. “The number of deaths due to the virus is six so far in the state, wherein swine flu cases have been reported in 15 districts," a senior Health department official said. Districts, which are affected by swine flu include Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Sitapur, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Bareilly and Hapur.

School children wearing masks to prevent infection as a girl was detected Swine flu at IIIT Allahabad, in Allahabad, UP. PTI

Himachal Pradesh: Three fresh cases of swine flu were reported in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday raising the number of those affected by the H1N1 virus to 15, a Health Department official said.

Nagaland: A Mizo woman was detected with swine flu making it the first case in the state so far. Pachuau Lalmalsawma, Nodal Officer of the state Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) said that the woman was in New Delhi for a brief period and it is suspected that she contracted the H1N1 virus there.

(With agency inputs)