Pune, Wednesday 12 August 2009: The death toll from Influenza A(H1N1) virus, or swine flu, rose to 14 on Wednesday with three deaths being reported from Maharashtra – two in Pune and one in Nashik.

Rupesh Gangurde, a doctor, died in Nashik – the city’s first and the nation’s 14th victim from the swine flu virus.

Shrawani Deshpande (29) was India’s 13th swine flu victim. She died at Pune’s government-run Sassoon General Hospital this morning.

Earlier, in the wee hours of Wednesday a 35-year-old man too succumbed to the swine flu virus at the Sassoon Hospital.

Sanjay Mistry, a resident of Pimpri, near Pune, was admitted to the hospital last Sunday in a critical condition and put on a ventilator.

The total number of swine flu casualties in Maharashtra has now gone up to 10.

Two more people have died of swine flu in Gujarat and one each in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Currently, there are five critical patients at Pune’s Sassoon Hospital and another two critical patients in a Mumbai hospital.

Meanwhile, with death toll continuing to mount the authorities have stepped up efforts to curb the spread of the contagious virus.

A worried Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad urged the chief ministers to take urgent steps to tackle the H1N1 disease that was unknown to India till the first case was reported May 16.

On Tuesday, a record 119 people tested positive, with the virus spreading to cities like Jammu, Osmanabad, Nagpur, Nasik and Manipal. Of the 1,079 positive cases in India, 589 have been discharged, Health Ministry officials said.

Those who succumbed to the swine flu virus on Tuesday were a 13-year-old girl in Pune, the worst hit city, a 63-year-old woman in Mumbai, a seven-year-old girl in Vadodra, and a 31-year-old man in Thiruvananthapuram.

Azad, who has immersed himself in the war against swine flu, telephoned some chief ministers Monday night and some Tuesday morning to warn that complacency could lead to a disaster.

Officials said he discussed with them urgent measures needed to combat the spread of the virus that has affected 1,079 people in India.

He also met senior bureaucrats tasked to visit various states to help contain the spread of the virus that originated in Mexico and has sparked a global scare.

Pune tops the list of casualties with seven deaths followed by Mumbai (02) and one each in Nashik, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Vadodara and Thiruvanathapuram.

Of the 119 positive cases reported Tuesday, Pune, which has been declared the epidemic city, reported 62. It was followed by Mumbai where 24 new cases were recorded.

As more swine flu cases poured in, the Haj Committee advised the elderly, children and pregnant woman to avoid going for the Haj pilgrimage.

In New Delhi, Azad underlined the guidelines to help private labs and hospitals carry out tests and treat suspected patients.