New Delhi/Mumbai/Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 11 - India was gripped by a swine flu scare Tuesday and authorities stepped up efforts to curb the spread of the contagious virus that claimed four victims, taking the nationwide death toll to 11 in a matter of only nine days.

A worried Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad urged the chief ministers to take urgent steps to tackle the H1N1 disease that was unknown to India till the first case was reported May 16.

On Tuesday, a record 119 people were tested positive, with the virus spreading to cities like Jammu, Osmanabad, Nagpur, Nasik and Manipal. Of the 1,079 positive cases in India, 589 have been discharged, health ministry officials said.

The latest swine flu victims were a 13-year-old girl in Pune, the worst hit city where five people have died, a 63-year-old woman in Mumbai, a seven-year-old girl in Vadodara, and a 31-year-old man in Thiruvananthapuram.

Azad, who has immersed himself in the war against swine flu, telephoned some chief ministers Monday night and some Tuesday morning to warn that complacency could lead to a disaster.

Officials said he discussed with them urgent measures needed to combat the spread of the virus that has affected 1,079 people in India.

He also met senior bureaucrats tasked to visit various state to help contain the spread of the virus that originated in Mexico and has sparked a global scare.

Even as Minister Azad held a high-level meeting in New Delhi, Shruti Gavde, who tested positive last Saturday, died in Pune's Sassoon Hospital, barely hours after pharmacist Sanjay Tilekar died there Monday night.

A student of A.D. High School in Pune, Shruti had been admitted to the hospital Sunday in critical condition.

In the Maharashtra capital Mumbai, Shahida Warsi died at a private hospital. 'The deceased was from Thane and had been brought to Mumbai for treatment,' said Additional Municipal Commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar.

She had been brought to Mumbai's Noor Hospital in Byculla five days ago for treatment.

In Gujarat's Vadodara city, a girl died in a government hospital after being under ventilator for two days. She had been brought in for treatment Aug 7, said Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas.