Indonesia confirms first two cases of swine flu

Jun 24, 2009, 9:33 GMT

   Jakarta - Officials confirmed Wednesday the country's first cases of the H1N1 flu after an Indonesian and a British tourist tested positive for the virus.

   Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari identified an Indonesian pilot who recently flew to Australia and Hong Kong, and a 22-year-old British tourist who has lived in Australia.

   Supari said the female tourist, who is in an isolation ward at Bali's Sanglah Public Hospital, travelled to Bali last week even though she fell ill before leaving Australia.

   Her condition worsened at the weekend, prompting her to seek medical help.

   A 37-year-old Indonesian pilot was being treated in a Jakarta hospital.

   'The two were in good condition but they are still in the isolation ward of the hospitals,' she said.

   Supari said she was 'very worried' that Australians who flock to Bali would spread the virus in Indonesia, a country that had so far avoided the worst of the pandemic.

   'No Indonesians have been infected with swine flu in the country and it has all come from outside,' Supari said.

   She said Indonesia was 'taking specific action' at Bali's international airport at Denpasar, one of Indonesia's main entry points for foreign tourists, especially Australians, to monitor passengers for H1N1.

   Indonesian authorities increased the use of body temperature scanners at airports and banned imports of live pigs and pork products.

   Indonesia is the country hardest hit by the H5N1 bird-flu virus, with 119 dead so far, according to official data.