Chandigarh, Dec 5 :At least one person has died and seven others have tested positive for swine flu in this union territory, taking the total number of people affected by the influenza A(H1N1) virus to nearly 150, a health official said Saturday.

"A swine flu patient who was on ventilator for the last few days died yesterday (Friday) evening. The deceased was a 25-year-old girl, a native of Nawanshahr town in Punjab," H. C. Gera, Chandigarh's nodal officer for swine flu, told IANS.

The virus has so far claimed 10 lives in the region.

Gera also said seven new cases were reported.

"We collected throat and nasal swab samples of patients yesterday (Friday) and received their positive reports this (Saturday) evening. Five of them are from different parts of Punjab while one each is from Chandigarh and Haryana," (IANS)