Immediately, police were alerted to take steps and trace the whereabouts of the missing student.

'The police have sent a team to Mumbai - where the patient is suspected to be hiding - to catch him and get him admitted to a medical facility before he can cause further problems,' a concerned Deshmukh said.

Panchgani is the worst affected with students getting affected in some of the top residential schools there.

Deshmukh said six more people tested positive Monday, of whom five have been admitted to a hospital, taking the total number of victims in the district to 31 and the state's total to 333.

Six more test reports of suspected victims are awaited, he said.

In view of the increasing number of swine flu patients, all the 50-odd residential and day schools in the hill station have been ordered shut till next Monday, he said.