Five more people have succumbed to the H1N1 virus in Coimbatore and Madurai districts in Tamil Nadu. Over 50 cases reportedly test positive for H1N1 on a weekly basis.

According to one report in the Times of India, three of these deaths occurred at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. All three died hours away after being admitted, even as they were shifted from private hospitals at the last minute, reported the paper.

Three patients-- Subramaniam, Jaganathan and Selvam-- passed away on Monday and Tuesday after failing to respond to treatment. Subramaniam, 56, die an hour after being admitted to the hospital. He was referred by a private hospital at 4 pm on Monday evening. Jaganathan, 44, while not diagnosed positive for H1N1 showed symptoms of the disease. He died on Tuesday following a fever and respiratory failure. Selvam, 54, the third patient who died at the hospital over the past two days, also showed symptoms of the disease.

In Madurai, two people-- Joseph, 60 from Virudhunagar and P Jeeva, 34, from Theni-- died in private hospitals. While Joseph was referred from one private hospital to another, Jeeva had first been diagnosed with H1N1 at the Theni Medical College after ten days of fever. He was then taken to a private hospital where he passed away on Tuesday.

According to one report in the Business Standard, 217 people are currently being treated for H1N1 symptoms.

The New Indian Express reports that a 12-year-old boy died at the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai on Sunday. According to the newspaper which quotes hospital sources, the boy had been living with cerebral palsy. While he was initial taken to a government hospital in Virudhunagar where he is from, he was later shifted to the GH in Madurai.

Swine flu or H1N1 is caused by the influenza A virus. High fever, persistent cough, cold, sore throat, nausea, headache and vomiting are the most common symptoms of the flu. A throat swab and culture is the test done to determine whether someone is H1N1 positive.