IANS

Bangalore, Sep 9: A 28-year-old man died of influenza A (H1N1) in Bagalkot in Karnataka, taking the death toll in the state to 44, an official said on Wednesday.

The latest swine flu victim was admitted last Wednesday to a government hospital in Bagalkot, around 500 km from here. He died last Friday.

However, the report confirming that he tested positive for the virus was received Tuesday, a health official said.

Meanwhile a central team from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) visited Bangalore Tuesday.

The team along with health officials of the city discussed the reasons behind the large number of swine flu deaths in the state. They also reviewed the measures initiated by the state government to manage the outbreak of the virus and prevent its spread.

The review by the team led to the conclusion that a delay in treatment and a large scale floating population in the state are some of the main reasons behind the deaths, a state health official said.

"The team observed that both Pune and Bangalore, which have recorded a large number of swine flu related deaths, have shown same kind of death patterns. Firstly, climate of both the cities is almost similar. Both the cities have large numbers of floating population too," Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) I.R. Perumal told IANS.

While Bangalore has recorded 36 swine flu deaths, eight have been reported from other parts of the state.

On Tuesday, Karnataka registered a total 17 fresh swine flu cases. While Bangalore reported 13 H1N1 flu cases, Bagalkot registered two and Belgaum and Chitradurga one each.

The number of confirmed H1N1 positive cases in the state has reached 602.