Currently, patients with H1N1 flu symptoms are being treated at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, Victoria Hospital and Lakeside Medical Center and Hospital.

Moreover, to get quick and easier testing reports on swine flu cases, the government has decided not to send samples (throat and nasal swabs) to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. Instead, Bangalore based NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences) and Kasturba Medical College, Manipal will be entrusted with the job.

'Both the medical institutes have adequate infrastructure for testing and will be utilized henceforth. As NIV is flooded with samples from across the country, so no samples from the state will be sent to the institute,' said the joint director.

Of the 68 confirmed cases in Karnataka so far, five have been reported from coastal city Mangalore and the rest from Bangalore.