ISLAMABAD: Two swine flu patients admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) last week were discharged on Wednesday after they recovered from the virus, the hospital administration said.

The patients left the hospital in the afternoon after the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed that they had been tested negative for the disease.

Pims Assistant Director Dr Waseem Khwaja said throat and nose secretions of the patients were sent to the NIH on Tuesday after the patients underwent five-day medical treatment, including anti-viral medication – Tami Flu and cough syrup. The test reports came negative, Mr Khwaja added.

One of the patients – SQH, 27, a resident of Kohat, was brought to Pims on September 23 with symptoms of virus. He used to drive taxi in Dubai, where he contracted the virus and was admitted to a private hospital.

Medical tests conducted in Dubai had confirmed that he was suffering from swine flu. Later, he flew back to his native country and approached Pims for medical treatment, where he again tested positive at the time of arrival.

The other patient, 27-year-old IK, a resident of Islamabad working in Oman as an engineer, was brought to Pims on September 24, with the same symptoms. Samples taken from him proved positive for swine flu.

In Pims, both the patients were kept in separate rooms of an isolation ward – Medical II, where eight rooms were reserved for patients suffering from swine flu.

On Wednesday, the rooms used by the two patients were sealed and they would be made available after fumigation.