1,500 Indians died from A/H1N1 flu

India is facing a strong outbreak of A/H1N1 flu with 26,000 infections since mid-December 2014.

The A/H1N1 flu outbreak in India has killed 1,500 people. (photo: AP)

Indian health officials have warned that a major flu epidemic is at risk of spreading further as unseasonal rains and high humidity are creating favorable conditions for the virus to thrive.

India's health ministry said this week it would work with state governments to improve their response to the pandemic. It also asked states to study the transmission patterns of the H1N1 virus and its mortality rate to develop better strategies to deal with the outbreak.

According to health experts, poor infection prevention measures and delayed diagnosis have led to a spike in cases across the country. Recent statistics show that half of the deaths from influenza A/H1N1 in the past three months have occurred in the western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Last week, the first cases of the H1N1 virus were recorded in the remote northeastern states bordering Myanmar.

In 2009, the A/H1N1 flu epidemic appeared in Mexico, then quickly spread around the world and became a pandemic. In India, about 2,700 people died in the 2009 epidemic./.

According to VOV.VN