The pandemic swine flu continues to take a toll as nine more deaths were recorded Monday, according to an official statement released today. With this the national death count due to the contagious virus has risen to 789.

Of these nine fatalities, five were reported from Karnataka and two each from Punjab and Delhi. As a consequence, the total number of deaths has risen to 128 in Karnataka, 20 in Punjab and 56 in Delhi.

Latest cases of swine flu infections:
Besides the casualties, 243 fresh cases of the contagion were also reported from different parts of the country on the same day.

This includes 144 cases in Delhi, 20 in Uttar Pradesh, 18 in Maharashtra, 13 each in Gujarat and Haryana, 11 in Karnataka, eight in Rajasthan, five in Chhattisgarh, four each in Tamil Nadu and Chandigarh, two in Jammu & Kashmir, and one in Kerala.

With this, the total number of positive cases of the H1N1 influenza in the country goes up to 23970, the statement added.

H1N1 claims more lives in Chandigarh:
The lethal virus accounted for three more deaths in the union territory of Chandigarh Monday. The victims were admitted at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGMIER) in the city.

Among the victims, one was a woman working in a nationalized bank inside the Punjab University (PU) campus in Chandigarh and the other two were from regions in Punjab and Haryana.

"We have informed the health officials of Punjab and Haryana about these deaths and told them to quarantine people who were in close contact with the deceased," officiating nodal officer of swine flu, G.C. Bansal, said.

State-wise record of fatalities:
Among all the flu hit states, Maharashtra continues to be the worst hit state, accounting for 249 deaths so far.

The total H1N1 fatalities in other states are 110 in Rajasthan, 64 in Gujarat, 52 in Andhra Pradesh, 30 in Kerala, 28 in Haryana, 10 in Uttarakhand, seven in Tamil Nadu, six in Puducherry, five each in Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, four in Madhya Pradesh, three each in Uttar Pradesh and Orissa, two in Chhattisgarh.

One death each was also reported from Jammu & Kashmir and Mizoram.

H1N1 remains a cause of concern:
With the mercury levels dipping day by day, the lethal virus is anticipated to exhibit significant and deadlier mutations.

What intensifies the concern is that H1N1 strain may combine with the seasonal flu, which may lead to easier spread of the virus.

However, scientists have not come across any tangible mutations of the H1N1 virus. The clinical severity of the virus remains to be examined.