Jaipur, Nov 13 - As many as 75 new cases of influenza A (H1N1) have been reported in Rajasthan, taking the number of positive cases of swine flu in the state to 455, an official said Friday.

"On Thursday, we had taken samples of 173 suspected people, of which 75 were found to be positive," a senior medical and health department official told IANS.

Swine flu has been on the rise particularly among school children.

"Out of these 455 cases, 179 are children from 46 different schools, majority of which are situated in Jaipur," the official said.

As a precautionary measure, a seven-day holiday has been declared in schools here.

According to official data released Thursday, 20 people have died of H1N1 virus in Rajasthan. This does not include a woman who was suspected to have died of swine flu Thursday.

Meanwhile, the state government has started outpatient department (OPD) in four satellite and 13 private hospitals in Jaipur.

"We have also set up isolation wards in two satellite hospitals," Jaipur District Collector Kuldeep Ranka said.

Each of these hospitals has a 20-bed capacity.

Now, Rajasthan's tourism industry is worried. They feel the swine flu scare would hit the sector.

Foreign tourist arrivals in Rajasthan may drop by 30 percent due to the swine flu scare, industry players say.

"We may not be able to meet last year's figure mainly on account of swine flu scare and recession in the western world," said Navendu Goswami, a city-based tour operator dealing mainly in inbound tours to Rajasthan. "In fact, the figure would be 20-30 percent lower than last year."

Around 1.4 million foreign tourists visited the state last year and on an average, one out of four foreign tourists coming to India visit Rajasthan. (IANS)