India's swine flu death toll rises to 20

MUMBAI, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.

The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.

Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.

CNN reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.

Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.

The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in a private school and a mother of two children ages 6 and 4, PTI said. She had tested positive for the virus while undergoing treatment at a hospital for respiratory disorders since Sunday. She also was described as suffering from other disorders.

Across India, federal health officials reported 1,078 of 5,000 people tested were positive for the virus.