June 18, 2009
HANOI (AFP) - Landlocked Laos has recorded its first case of swine flu, the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health authorities said in a joint statement received Thursday.
The first case of A(H1N1) influenza was confirmed on Tuesday by the National Centre for Laboratory and Epidemiology, the press release said, adding that the infected person had recently been in a country with a confirmed outbreak.
A WHO official, citing privacy considerations, declined to say whether the infected person was a foreigner or Laotian. It did not identify the country the infected man had recently visited.
The press release said the man did not require hospitalisation and was recovering well.
"All close contacts of this person are being contacted and monitored for symptoms of infection in order to minimise the spread of infection in the community," the statement said.
Laos, a country of about seven million people, is one of Asia's poorest nations.
A government spokesman said earlier that because travellers usually pass through neighbouring countries like Vietnam or Thailand before entering Laos, the swine flu threat should be reduced.
Among Laos's neighbours, there are 201 confirmed swine flu cases in Thailand, 25 in Vietnam, and 362 in China, a WHO statement dated Wednesday said.
Globally, the WHO's latest update said 76 countries had officially reported almost 36,000 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 163 deaths.
Last week the WHO declared that the swine flu crisis had escalated into the world's first influenza pandemic in 40 years.
