Five new swine flu cases found

By Cai Wenjun  |   2009-6-21  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

THE Shanghai Health Bureau reported five new swine flu cases yesterday, three imported and two who had been in close contact with infected victims.

By yesterday, local confirmed swine flu cases stood at 50, including 23 people who have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

The five new patients were hospitalized in a stable condition last night and health authorities were searching for those they had close contact with to take precautionary measures.

The three imported cases included two Chinese arriving in Shanghai from Australia and one Chinese returning from Canada.

An 11-year-old American boy and a Chinese man were the two cases detected with links to swine flu patients.

The boy had been kept in a designated quarantine hotel since Wednesday after having been in close contact with a swine flu patient. He started to develop fever and flu-like symptoms on Thursday and was sent to a hospital.

The patient was an American girl, 7, who arrived in the city on United Airlines flight UA835 from Chicago on Wednesday. Her fever was detected on board and the infection was confirmed on Thursday.

Another case was a 19-year-old Chinese man studying in Australia who had been quarantined in a designated hotel since Tuesday as a close contact of two swine flu patients. The man's fever was diagnosed on Friday morning and he was hospitalized.

The two patients were a 17-year-old Chinese girl arriving in Shanghai from Canada on Tuesday afternoon and a 26-year-old Australian man arriving in Shanghai from Australia on Tuesday night.

Both patients were detected as feverish at the airport and their infection confirmed on Thursday.

Nationwide, another 23 cases were confirmed yesterday, bringing the total to 356 on the Chinese mainland.