Pune, Aug 7 - As many as 40 new cases of swine flu were detected across Maharashtra Friday, taking the total number of people affected by the H1N1 virus in the state to 212, health authorities said here. Medical centres saw a steady flow of people getting themselves tested as a precautionary measure.

The new cases include a female student in Pune's Symbiosis College and two medicos, said Ashok Ladda, additional director of the government's Family Welfare Department. The medicos' condition is stated to be critical and they have been put on ventilators, he added.

Of the new cases, 24 are in Pune and 16 in Mumbai, making these two cities the worst affected in the state. Of the total 212 cases in the state, 143 patients have been discharged after treatment, Pradeep Awate, head of the State Swine Flu Control Room, told IANS.

A total of 77 patients are admitted to various government hospitals - 50 in Pune, 20 in Mumbai and seven in Panchgani, a hill station in Satara district, said Ladda.

Ironically, there were no fresh cases of swine flu reported in the state Friday morning, but the figure shot up after the test reports of 58 suspected cases were received by health authorities in the evening.