BEIJING, May 19: The Chinese Health Ministry confirmed a fifth case of swine flu on the Chinese mainland Tuesday in an Italian woman traveling in Tibet from Nepal.
A 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. [break]
She was stopped at the Zhangmu border crossing with a fever of 101.3 Fahrenheit, and taken to a local hospital, where initial tests Monday showed her as positive for the H1N1 virus, the ministry said.
Woman dies from swine flu in Kavre
The woman was reported in stable condition and 23 of her foreign traveling companions have been confined to their hotel for medical observation, the statement said.
China has had eight cases of the virus, five on the mainland and three in its territory Hong Kong. None have become seriously ill.
Meanwhile, a 59-year-old man from Guangzhou who returned to the mainland May 15 aboard a train from Hong Kong was also found carrying the virus. 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 traveled with carriers or suspected carriers remain in quarantine under medical observation.
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 travelers to fill out health forms.
