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Cuba confirms its 1st swine flu case

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-12 09:31

HAVANA -- Cuba has found its first confirmed case of the H1N1 flu that has sickened thousands of people around the world, the Public Health Ministry said on Monday.

In a statement read on state-run television, the ministry said the infected person was a student from Mexico who had returned to Cuba after vacation.

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No details were given on the student's condition.

The ministry said that starting in late April it had found 14 Mexican students, all of them studying in a Cuban medical school, with mild flu-like symptoms, but only the one case of swine flu had been confirmed so far.

Cuba has taken a number of measures to prevent the H1N1 flu virus from reaching the Caribbean island located 115 miles (185 km) across the Yucatan Channel from Mexico, epicenter of the swine flu outbreak.

Two weeks ago, it banned flights from Mexico and has stepped up medical vigilance at airports, ports and marinas by asking arriving visitors about their health.