Fourth case of swine flu confirmed in China's mainland

Beijing: The Health Ministry confirmed a fourth case of swine flu on the Chinese mainland Tuesday in a man recently returned from the United States and Canada and said a Italian woman travelling in Tibet was also suspected of carrying the virus.

The latest confirmed case was identified as a 59-year-old man from Guangzhou who returned to the mainland May 15 aboard a train from Hong Kong. He ran a fever while on the train.

The ministry says the man, surnamed Yang, had earlier arrived in Hong Kong on a flight from the US via South Korea. It said he had been traveling in the US and Canada prior to his return. Testing confirmed Tuesday he had the virus. People who had close contact with him have been traced and none have shown symptoms of swine flu.

The mainland's first swine flu patient was discharged from a hospital in Chengdu on Sunday, while hundreds of people who travelled with carriers or suspected carriers remain in quarantine under medical observation.

A separate ministry statement said the 42-year-old Italian woman, who was not identified by name, had arrived in Nepal from Italy on May 12, then entered Tibet by land on Saturday, a day after developing cold symptoms including a runny nose, sore throat and fever chills.

She was stopped at the Zhangmu border crossing with a fever of 101.3 Fahrenheit (38.5 Celsius), and taken to a local hospital, where initial tests Monday showed her as positive for the H1N1 virus, the ministry said.

The woman was reported in stable condition and 23 of her foreign travelling companions have been confined to their hotel for medical observation, the statement said.

China has had seven cases of the virus, four on the mainland and three in its territory Hong Kong. None have become seriously ill.

China, which was all but shut down by the deadly 2003 SARS outbreak, has taken extensive measures to block and detect swine flu, including temperature checks and requiring even domestic travellers to fill out health forms.