Dengue, swine flu grip Kerala, nine de

With the onset of monsoon, dengue fever and a variant of swine flu have broken out in Kerala, claiming nine lives so far, an official said.

An unspecified number of people have fallen sick in the districts of Pathanamthitta, Kozhikode, Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram, said officer Amar S. Fettle.

Seven deaths had been reported because of H1N1, he said.

Fettle told IANS that everything was under control during the relatively hotter months but now things are not that conducive.

Since May 15 things are bad, with 37 people testing positive for HINI and seven people dying because of it, he said.

There have also been 823 cases of dengue fever -- and two deaths.

Since the start of the year, more than 8.45 lakh people across the state have been affected by fever, he said.

People have to wake up and keep their surroundings clean. With the monsoon getting stronger, proper public hygiene has to be maintained, he said.