Yemen announced on Tuesday that it has identified its first confirmed case of H1N1 flu in a student who had recently returned from an exchange programme in the United States, according to dpa. Yemeni Health Minister Abdul-Kareem Rasea said the 16-year-old student, who arrived from the United States on Saturday, has contracted the virus. He said the patient was in stable condition and was being treated. "His condition is stable and he is subjected to treatment, as he is quarantined at home according to the international guidelines approved by the World Health Organisation and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta," Rasea told a news conference. He said the other members of the group were tested although they had no strain of the H1N1 flu virus. "The health condition of most of the other students is good and epidemiological tests were made for them, and the tests were negative," Rasea said. He said, however, any of those students develops symptoms similar the flu, "all needed procedures will be taken accordingly." On Sunday, two US citizens were tested at a hospital in Sana'a over suspicion of having swine flu, but their tests were negative. The H1N1 virus first emerged in the United States and Mexico in April, and has since spread internationally. In the Middle East, cases appeared in Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
