Pune, Thursday, 13 August 2009: The Swine flu death toll rose to 21 when 37-year-old Archana Kolhe succumbed to it in Pune’s Sassoon Hospital, late Thursday afternoon.

Besides, the cyber city of India, Bangalore, on Thursday reported its first swine flu death after a 26-year-old woman died of the deadly H1N1 virus taking the overall tally to 21.

According to reports, Rupa, the 26-year-old woman, was a diabetic and admitted to St Philomina hospital where she succumbed in the afternoon.

Swine flu symptoms were also diagnosed in her body.

Earlier, two more swine flu deaths were reported from Pune, which is the most affected city in Maharashtra.

A nine-month-old boy, Swabhiman Kamble, died of swine flu at the Sahyadri Munot private hospital in Pune early this morning.

An official at the state swine flu control room informed that the infant had been hospitalised early this week with flu-like symptoms. In between, he had also been taken for a check up to Sassoon Hospital, which has been handling very serious cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.

The Sahyadri Munot hospital is one of the five private hospitals that have been allowed by the state government to treat the swine flu cases.

Meanwhile, the second death was reported from the KEM Hospital in Pune after a 79-year-old woman succumbed to the deadly influenza A (H1N1) infection.

With this the swine flu death toll in Pune alone has reached to 13 as on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today briefed the council of ministers about the government’s preparedness to deal with the situation during a cabinet meet in the national capital.

The Health Minister, in view of acute shortage of swine flu masks and Tamiflu tablets, has asked the authorised hospitals to admit only critically affected patients that would reduce the burden on hospitals.