Romanian Swine Flu Suspicion Is False Alarm - Health Min Official

The situation in Arad, where a young man is suspected to have the swine flu will not be analyzed by the "Cantacuzino" Institute in Bucharest, because the person involved does not come from an area with confirmed cases of the illness, said Ministry of Health official Adrian Streinu Cercel.

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A Romanian man is being treated in the western Romanian county of Arad on suspicion that he may have the swine flu, after he traveled to Portugal and Spain, said Thursday Mihai Tarcus, head of the local public health department.

The man went to his family physician Thursday morning with symptoms of the common cold. Because the patient had just returned from a trip to Portugal and Spain, where likely cases of swine flu have been reported, the doctor alerted the county public health department.

Blood samples from the patient will be analyzed in Bucharest.

"The patient refused to be committed to hospital, but is under strict surveillance at home until test results are available,” Tarcus said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said it raised its level of swine flu pandemic alert from phase 4 to 5, one step short of a full-scale pandemic.

The WHO said nine countries have officially reported cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection.

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