Health officials are disturbed as the cases of swine flu in the country are going up with the monsoon.

Around 548 new H1N1 cases were reported during the last week, the highest for the current year.

The health ministry said that 38 individuals lost their lives because of the deadly virus between July 19 and 25.

While the four southern states and Maharashtra continued to be severely hit, West Bengal and Delhi also joined the list of flu cases.

Maharashtra remained on top as it reported 230 Swine flu cases this week, accompanied by Kerala with 108 cases.

Karnataka reported 86 cases whereas Andhra Pradesh and Delhi reported 34 each, followed by West Bengal with 29 cases. Tamil Nadu reported 11 cases.

Around 19 fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, 8 from Kerala, 5 from Andhra Pradesh, 2 in the national capital and one in West Bengal.

A handful of cases have also been reported from Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

In the meantime, the health ministry has recommended the use of H1N1 vaccines to stay away from the threat.

A health ministry official said, "The moisture due to monsoon is giving a good breeding ground to the virus, precautionary measures such as washing of hands, covering the nose and avoiding crowded places must be followed."

According to the health ministry, 1,692 demises have been reported owing to swine flu since its eruption in May 2009. (With Inputs from Agencies)