As many as 1,042 people died of swine flu till August 20 this year, according to the Health Ministry. Of these, 342 casualties were in August alone. Maharashtra saw the most number of deaths at 437, followed by Rajasthan at 269 and Goa at 69, IANS reported on Thursday citing data released by the Centre.

So far in 2017, 22,186 H1N1 cases have been recorded in India. Maharashtra leads here, too, with 4,245 cases, followed by Goa with 3,029, Tamil Nadu with 2,994 and Karnataka with 2,956. Delhi recorded 1,416 cases of H1N1 infections, Kerala 1,374, and Rajasthan 651.

The figures have risen drastically since 2016, when only 1,786 swine flu cases were registered and 265 people had died. However, it is an improvement from that in 2015, which saw the worst swine flu outbreak with 42,592 cases and 2,990 deaths.

The Health Ministry said there were no swine flu cases this year in Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya.