Despite a series of directives issued by the local health department to city hospitals on curtailing the number of swine flu cases emerging from their premises, the number of medicos falling prey to the virus refuses to subside.

On Sunday, another senior faculty member of the department of medicine at the GMCH, Sector 32, tested positive for H1N1. The latest case has taken the total number of cases of doctors and paramedical staff in the city to 17. In all, this was the 67th case of swine flu in the city. While the doctor (29), a resident of GMCH residential complex, has been quarantined and put on Tamiflu, four members of his family have also been quarantined at their residence.

No one among his relatives is showing any symptoms for infection, said the officials.

Earlier, the UT Health officials have alerted the hospitals about the rising swine flue cases among doctors in the city and written to the medical superintendents of various hospitals to take adequate measures to check the spread of infection. A copy of fresh guidelines on administering treatment to patients by doctors and paramedical staff has also been sent.

Meanwhile, five fresh samples including those of school students were collected on Sunday.

Their results will be confirmed from the PGI lab on Monday.