Swine flu kills over 100 across India

New Delhi = Swine flu has caused more than 100 deaths and infected hundreds more people in India this year, officials said Wednesday.

A total of 104 people died and 1 168 cases of H1N1 influenza have been reported from across India since the beginning of the year, according to the health ministry.

Authorities have ordered more drugs to treat the disease and additional laboratories are being set up to carry out tests.

North-western Rajasthan, neighbouring Gujarat and southern Telangana states were the worst-affected, accounting for around 60 deaths, data from the ministry showed.

Five people died in the capital Delhi, where 259 people tested positive for swine flu.

More than 4 000 people have died of swine flu across India since May 2009, most of them during outbreaks in 2009 and 2010, according to the ministry.

The World Health Organisation had warned of localized outbreaks of H1N1 in the years following the 2010 pandemic.