New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Eight swine flu deaths, including four in Maharashtra, were reported in India Saturday, taking the toll to 473, health authorities said here.
Also, 77 new cases of the infection were reported in the country, taking the total number of people infected with the contagious flu to 13,861.

With the four deaths in Maharashtra, the toll in the state has gone up to 201 - the highest in the country.

One death each was reported from the Indian capital, Kerala, Rajasthan and Chandigarh, authorities said.

With this the death toll in Delhi has reached 17, while 15 people have succumbed to the virus in Kerala. In Rajasthan, two people have died since the first swine flu death was reported in the country Aug 3.

“Till date, samples from 73,149 people have been tested for Influenza A (H1N1) in government laboratories and a few private laboratories across the country and 13,861 of them have been found positive,” said an official statement issued here.

Of the 77 new cases, 19 were from Tamil Nadu, followed by 18 in Kerala.

Delhi came third with 12 new cases reported Saturday. So far, 3,438 people have been infected with the flu in the national capital.

New cases were also reported from Maharashtra (9), Karnataka (7), Gujarat (4), Haryana (2) and Andhra Pradesh (1).

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 700 people have died of swine flu this week raising the number of fatalities from the viral disease to 5,712 worldwide.