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Japan confirms fourth case of swine flu

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-10 10:41

TOKYO -- Japan confirmed that a fourth person had A (H1N1) flu Sunday, a day after the nation's first cases were found, the health ministry said.

Full coverage:  A（H1N1）Influenza Outbreak Related readings: 7 on flu-affected flight quarantined US cases at 1,639, precaution urged Costa Rica sees 1st H1N1 flu death China prevention in line with int'l rules

The Japanese teenager, who was confirmed to have the same strain of the flu that has killed 48 people in Mexico, the epicenter of the disease, had traveled to Canada on the same high school trip as three others confirmed to have the disease Saturday, the Japanese Health and Welfare Ministry said.

A lab at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases confirmed he had the disease.

The patient, who was not identified, is being quarantined at a hospital near the airport. He had been in Oakville, Canada in Ontario since April 24 and returned on Friday.

Japanese authorities have been busy tracking travelers who arrived on the same flight as the four cases. The other three cases -- a high school teacher and two of his teenage students -- were confirmed as the country's first on Saturday.

Passengers from the US wearing face masks arrive at Narita international airport in Narita May 9, 2009. [Agencies]

The three were being held at a hospital near the airport, but it was unclear if they were in the same facility as the new case. Tests confirmed they had the virus that has killed at least 52 people and sickened more than 4,150, mostly in the US and Mexico.

Since the outbreak began last month, several countries, including Japan, have screened air travelers for flu symptoms.

The fourth case was among 49 people who had been taken to a hospital for further tests because they had been sitting near the first three cases.