H1N1 Hits Bahrain

MANAMA: A Bahraini student has tested positive for swine flu, it was revealed late last night. The 21-year old, who had recently returned from New York in the US, was confirmed as Bahrain's first case of the deadly H1N1 virus, a day after he had been cleared by Health Ministry specialists. Ministry public relations director Adel Ali Abdulla said the student was retested with new equipment and testing kits which arrived in Bahrain in the last 24 hours. "He is now in isolation at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) and is being treated with Tamiflu," he said. "He is responding positively and his body composition is strong. We are sure he will recover fully," said Mr Abdulla. "He will be in isolation for five days and administered two tablets a day, which is the full course." Mr Abdulla said the student's father and brother, who were with him most of the time, had tested negative for the flu. "We are still waiting to test his brother and sister and are also awaiting results of his two Bahraini roommates who were with him in the US." He said samples had also been taken from three nurses and a doctor who had examined him at a private hospital last Saturday, from where he was discharged after being treated for ordinary flu. "The four have been advised to stay at home until their test results are available." The hospital alerted public health officials only after the patient went back with high fever a day later, after which SMC officials advised him to be moved into isolation. The patient was then tested at the private hospital by SMC experts and cleared. "Since we had received the new kits just a day earlier, we decided to test him again and found him to be positive," said Mr Abdulla. "We have also retested an American man and a British woman who had earlier tested negative with the new equipment and they have tested negative again." He confirmed action would be taken against the hospital but said the focus was now on efforts to stop the infection from spreading.

From Gulf Daily News http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=251463

this student was in a graduation trip organized by New York Institue of Technology in Bahrain (NYiT)