New Delhi, Aug 21 - Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Friday lost his cool and hit out at 'bloody' state health ministers for not doing enough to contain the spread of the H1N1 virus in India.

'Bloody, hum yahan par 20-24 ghante kaam karte hai aur aap aish karte ho (Bloody, we are working 20 to 24 hours. And you people are enjoying yourselves),' Azad said at a meeting of state health ministers here.

Stunned silence followed the outburst, but Azad was unfazed and continued to scold the gathering.

'You must wake up as soon as possible,' said the health minister after reading out from his written speech.

'Hum teen mahine se aap ko jhel rahe hai (For the past three months, we are tolerating you people),' he added.

The meeting was on the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the flagship programme of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government that was launched in 2005 and is aimed at providing quality healthcare to the rural populace.

Azad, after speaking on the NRHM for a few minutes, went on to discuss the swine flu pandemic that has killed 36 people in the country and infected 2,064 people.