Turkey reported its first case of swine flu

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey reported Saturday its first case of swine flu in a man who had traveled to Istanbul from the United States.

The U.S. citizen, flying from the United States via Amsterdam was found to be suffering from the H1N1 virus after arriving at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport en route to Iraq on Thursday; Health Minister Recep Akdag told a news conference.



He said the H1N1 virus, the formal name for swine flu, had been confirmed in blood tests carried out after thermal cameras picked up the fact that the man was running a high fever.



"The man's condition, in general, is good, and he has been placed in isolation along with his family," Akdag said.



The victim is a 27-year-old Iraqi-born man, the Turkish health minister added.



Most of 166 passengers on the KLM flight to Istanbul had been contacted and given anti-viral medicines, Akdag also told reporters later in the day. He urged those who authorities had not been able to reach to call a hot line established to assist them.



"Everything is under our control," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told reporters before departing for a trip to Russia. "Everything is being monitored closely."



Turkey has installed 27 thermal cameras at its borders and in airports to monitors passengers for symptoms of swine flu, Hurriyet Daily News reported.



More than 1,000 new cases of the flu were reported worldwide in 24 hours, with 7,520 people known to have been infected with the disease, according to the latest figures issued by the World Health Organization in Geneva on Friday.



With new cases reported by local authorities in Malaysia, Ecuador, Peru and now Turkey, the virus has now spread to 36 countries from its epicenter, Mexico.