Swine flu claims 36 more lives, over 19,000 affected: Health Ministry

New Delhi: Swine flu has claimed 36 more lives raising the toll to 1,041 even as the number of people affected by the H1N1 virus in the country breached the 19,000 mark on Saturday.

As per data collated by the Health Ministry, the total number of deaths due to swine flu was 1,041 till Saturday while the number of people affected were 19,046.

The Health Ministry had on Friday given the figure of those affected to be 18,105.

In Rajasthan, the death toll has climbed to 257 while the number of those affected stood at 5,403.

As many as 256 people have died of the disease in Gujarat, which is among the worst affected states. So far, 4,162 people have been affected in the state.

In Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, the total number of deaths has been reported to be 151 and 131 respectively.

The disease has claimed 56 and 42 lives in Telangana and Punjab respectively. In Delhi, ten persons have died of swine flu while the number of affected has risen to 2,791.

Karnataka has reported 42 deaths till now, Haryana - 21, Andhra Pradesh - 12, Himachal Pradesh - 8, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala - 7.

Health Minister JP Nadda had yesterday admitted that the country was facing a shortage of laboratories for testing swine flu and had assured that efforts were being made to set up such facilities in all states.

The government has been repeatedly asserting that it is "very serious" on combating the challenge and has asked people not to panic but be alert.