Friday, May 22, 2009

Taiwan confirms three new H1N1 flu cases

Posted: 22 May 2009 1829 hrs

090522-1829hrs Passengers wear protective masks after arriving at Taoyuan airport in northern Taiwan.

TAIPEI: Taiwan confirmed three new Influenza A (H1N1) flu cases on Friday in a woman returning from the Philippines and two students flying back from the United States, bringing the island's total infections to five.

A 30-year-old woman who had been travelling in Manila May 16-20 with three relatives tested positive for A(H1N1) influenza, said the Centres for Disease Control (CDC).

"She was feeling unwell while in Manila. She went to a clinic on Thursday after she developed a fever. Her daughter was also screened after she too was running a fever," said CDC spokesman Shih Wen-yi.

Test results for the five-year-old girl were expected later Friday, he said.

The other new cases were two sisters who returned from short-term studies in San Francisco on Thursday, the CDC said.

The infections among overseas students have prompted the education ministry to suspend a school trip it sponsored to Japan and advise students against visiting places with higher levels of infection.

The ministry also urged overseas students with flu symptoms to seek immediate treatment before returning home for the summer holidays.

The island's first confirmed case was an Australian doctor who arrived by plane from New York via Hong Kong earlier in the week. He is recovering and is expected to be discharged on Saturday.

The H1N1 flu virus has claimed 85 lives worldwide with more than 11,000 infections confirmed, according to the World Health Organisation. - AFP/ms

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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