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People on same flight with A/H1N1 patient sought

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-02 13:30

GUANGZHOU -- The health authorities of south China's Guangdong Province are seeking 11 people who had been on the same flight with a Mexican who was later found infected with influenza A/H1N1, according to a notice issued by the Provincial Public Health Bureau Saturday morning.

Related readings:  A(H1N1) Influenza Outbreak Related readings:  Hong Kong detected first suspected flu case  Mexico: 300 confirmed swine flu cases, 12 dead  Mexican health expert: Learn to live with new flu virus  Flu fears fail to scare domestic travelers

The patient and 41 other passengers on the flight AM098 arrived in Shanghai from Mexico on Thursday. The 41 passengers then flew to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province.

The Guangdong public health bureau decided to put the 41 passengers under a 7-day medical observation. However, so far the bureau has found only 30 of them. The bureau asked the other 11 people to contact local disease prevention and control centers to receive medical observation or call the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention at 020-84451025.

Hong Kong reported the first confirmed case of influenza A/H1N1infection in the city on Friday, namely the Mexico passenger on flight AM098.

The patient, a 25-year-old male Mexican, checked into the Metropark Hotel in Wanchai, Hong Kong, on Thursday afternoon and developed flu symptoms such as lethargy, cough and a sore throat in the evening. He went to see the doctor at the nearby Ruttonjee Hospital at around 8:00 p.m.

Preliminary tests thereafter showed the patient was positive for the new strain and further laboratory tests confirmed the result on Friday evening. The patient was currently in quarantine and in stable situation at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

Prevention measures have been enhanced at the airport and on the local transit system.