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Patient may have caught flu in China

By Shan Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-29 09:11

It is "highly possible" that the first domestic transmission of the A(H1N1) flu has happened in China, the Ministry of Health said last night.

A 22-year-old man in Shanghai is suspected of contracting the potentially deadly virus from a 30-year-old man surnamed Shu, who was the city's first confirmed flu victim.

Full coverage:  A（H1N1）Influenza Outbreak Related readings:  Patient may have caught flu in China  Mainland reports 15th flu case, 2 more suspected  Mainland flu cases rise to 14, one suspected  A(H1N1) flu cases may jump in China  1st mainland flu patient leaves hospital

"It is highly possible that the nation has its first A(H1N1) flu case through domestic transmission as there are more and more imported cases," said Zeng Guang, a top epidemiology expert with the Chinese Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The development came as a 26-year-old female student in Shanghai and a 25-year-old man in Fujian province became the latest confirmed victims of the flu - bringing to 15 the total number of cases on the Chinese mainland.

Meanwhile, a 28-year-old Chinese man with US nationality in Guangdong province was also suspected of having contracted the virus.

He will undergo further tests to confirm the diagnosis. The man has no proven link with any confirmed cases in Guangdong.

The MOH said the suspected patient in Shanghai and the confirmed patient Shu both arrived from Australia on Air China flight CA178 on Saturday.

The 22-year-old man, who studies at a university in Australia, was placed in quarantine with 23 other passengers and seven aircraft crew after Shu was found to have a high temperature when he disembarked from the plane.

The 22-year-old man began showing symptoms of H1N1 while in quarantine.

Earlier last night in Shanghai, a female student became the city's second confirmed patient.

The student, who studies at a US university, landed at Pudong International Airport on American Airlines flight AA289 on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, a 25-year-old Chinese man in Fujian province was confirmed as also having the virus.

The man, who is employed in the catering business in the US, flew on Air China flight CA982 from New York to Beijing on May 24.

The development came as the youngest H1N1 flu patient on the Chinese mainland, a 22-month-old baby girl, was discharged from a local hospital yesterday.