Pune/Bangalore, Aug 13 - A nine-month-old child died of the H1N1 virus in India's epidemic epicentre Pune and a woman school teacher was Bangalore's first swine flu victim, officials said Thursday, as India's toll climbed to 19 amid hectic efforts to curb the spread of the contagious disease.

Nine-month-old Swabhiman Kamble died at the Sahyadri Munot Hospital in Pune late Wednesday, an official said.

An official at the Maharashtra swine flu control room told IANS that the infant had been hospitalised early this week with flu-like symptoms. In between, he had also been taken for a check-up to the Sassoon Hospital, which has been handling very serious cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.

This was the 14th swine flu death in Maharashtra and 11th in Pune. Two people have died in Mumbai and one in Nashik.

Maharashtra's neighbouring Karnataka state saw the first H1N1 death late Wednesday.

A 26-year-old school teacher identified as Rupa died at Bangalore's St. Philomena Hospital. Her test results, received Thursday, confirmed she died of swine flu.

'Her throat and nasal swabs tests have confirmed that the patient was suffering from the H1N1 influenza virus,' hospital director Shankar Prasad told reporters Thursday.

She was admitted in the hospital Aug 7.

'The patient was admitted with breathing problems coupled with pneumonia. Her condition started deteriorating Tuesday and she died Wednesday afternoon.