WORLD> Europe
Italy finds first suspected swine flu case
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-27 23:07

ROME -- Italian health authorities have found the country's first suspected case of swine flu, a 31-year-old woman who had returned from a visit to the United States, the ANSA news agency reported Monday.

The woman, from the Veneto region, was placed in quarantine in a Venice hospital but was said to be in good condition, according to ANSA.

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She had developed a high fever upon returning from San Diego, south California, a city bordering Mexico. A sample of her blood has been sent for testing at Padua University, which hosts Italy's top center for infectious diseases.

Genoa University virologist Pietro Crovari said the swine flu would spread to Italy inevitably but a pandemic was unlikely because the flu virus was a normal strain, not as fatal as the bird flu.

The outbreak of swine flu began in Mexico where 103 people have died so far and there are another 1,614 suspected cases.

The flu quickly spread to the Untied States, where there are some 20 suspected cases.

Spain confirmed the first swine flu case in Europe on Monday, while four suspected cases in France and one in Britain have proved negative.