Chandigarh, July 28 - A 23-year-old resident of Punjab's Patiala town, admitted to a Chandigarh hospital, has tested positive for the influenza A (H1N1) virus.

Officials said the patient from Patiala, about 70 km from here, had returned from Thailand last week. On Friday, he approached doctors at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here with complaints of fever and cold.

'Seeing his travel history, we admitted him in an isolated ward and sent his throat swab samples to NICD (National Institute of Communicable Disease) in New Delhi. We got his report yesterday evening that confirmed the infection,' H.C. Gera, Chandigarh's nodal officer for swine flu, told IANS.

'We have also informed health officials in Patiala so they can quarantine the family members of the patient.'

This is the third confirmed case of swine flu in the city.