Swine flu cases have reached epidemic proportions in Gujarat with 121 deaths, most of them females between 15 and 45 years of age, during the past two-and-a-half months. Besides, at least 652 people have been detected positive for H1N1 virus. In comparison, only 30 deaths were reported last year out of 101 cases that were reported. Gujarat reported its first swine flu death in 2009 and the number of casualties that year was 125 out of 697 cases. In 2009, Gujarat reported the highest swine flu death rate in the country according to the Union Health Ministry. It was 10.94% compared to the national average of 2.66%. The year 2010 saw as many as 1,682 cases and 363 deaths, while there were only seven cases and four deaths the next year. In 2012, the State reported 101 cases and 30 dead. Though there have been sporadic cases from other parts of the State, the impact of the virus is maximum in the Saurashtra region with the maximum number of deaths (35) in Rajkot district. The situation is also grim in other cities of Saurashtra with 14 deaths in Jamnagar and three in Bhavnagar. Meanwhile, a team from the National Centre for Disease Control and the National Institute of Virology visited the Civil Hospital in Jamnagar and the Medical College in Rajkot and expressed satisfaction over the treatment being provided to swine flu patients. But so far, the spread of the virus has remained uncontained.