World News for Students of English

26-02-2015 15:00

A swine flu outbreak in India has killed 774 people, as the government struggles to control the epidemic.

According to the health authorities, the number of cases has increased to 12,963 since the flu broke out in December, with the Indian capital New Delhi reporting nine deaths.

The outbreak of the N1H1 virus has been the worst in five years, with the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan being the worst affected.

Following criticism the government received for its failure in the distribution of medicine, health authorities have made efforts to ensure public hospitals across the country have adequate medical supplies and could provide free medical service for all patients.

Health authorities have also launched a campaign over television and radio to tell people about precautions they should take to avoid the deadly flu which claimed 2,700 lives in an outbreak just five years ago.

Difficult words: swine flu (a type of disease that starts with pigs), outbreak (when many people get sick with a disease), struggle (to try very hard), epidemic (when many people get a disease at the same time), affected (changed), make efforts (to try to do something), ensure (to make sure), adequate (good enough), launch (to start), precaution (something which people do to stop something bad from happening).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com