Chandigarh, Aug 20 - The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here has got the green signal from the directorate general of health services to test the samples of influenza A (H1N1) patients, a health official said Thursday.

'The virology laboratory at PGIMER has started testing samples for swine flu from yesterday (Wednesday). We were working on this for the last 15 days and overall response is good. Now patients can get their test report on the same day of submitting their samples,' said a senior health official.

'Earlier, we were sending throat and nasal swab samples to NICD (National Institute of Communicable Disease) in New Delhi and we were getting report in two-three days' time. Hospitals from Punjab and Haryana can also send their samples here that will lower the work load of NICD labs.'

So far, over 100 suspected cases of swine flu have been reported in Chandigarh and eight of them tested positive. There has been no fatality reported in this region.