Saudi, Bahrain confirm new swine flu cases

Three further cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 11, the Ministry of Health has said, while Bahrain has also been hit by the virus.

The latest infections include a case of a Mauritanian arriving from Canada via the UAE, health chiefs added.

He was found to have been carrying the virus during a checkup at Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Airport in Madinah.

The other two cases are those of a three-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl, Arab News reported on Monday.

Health Ministry spokesman Dr Khalid Al-Mirghalani said that the Mauritanian is quarantined at King Fahd Hospital in Madinah, while the other two children are at Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital (RAFH).

In neighbouring Bahrain, seven students who returned from US on Saturday tested positive for the HINI virus on Sunday, the paper added.

“The students are under 20 and have mild traces of swine flu. They underwent a series of tests which were positive and will be kept in the isolation ward of the Salmaniya Medical Complex for the next couple of weeks,” a Bahraini Health Ministry spokesperson told the paper.

The country has allocated an additional BD2.3 million (US $6.1 million) to intensify medical and technical preparations, the Gulf Daily News reported.

On Thursday, the World Health Organisation declared swine flu a pandemic. Since it first emerged in late April in North America, swine flu has reached 74 countries, infecting nearly 29,000 people.

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