Swine Flu detected in Nepal

Three persons of a US-based non-resident Nepali family, who landed in Kathmandu recently, have been detected with H1N1 virus (Swine Flu), which has caused a global pandemic.

Organising a press meet Monday, officials at the Avian Influenza Control Project under the Epidemiology and Disease Control Unit (EDCU) said Swine Flu has been detected in the three NRNs who had flown to Kathmandu via Doha on June 21.

According to Dr Manas Kumar Banerjee, head of the Avian Influenza Control Project, the infected persons are currently undergoing treatment at one of the hospitals in Kathmandu.

He said one of the infected persons has already come into contact with more than a hundred persons and that health officials are studying whether the virus has spread to others.

The three persons were tested positive in a lab test conducted in Britain. The authorities had sent their blood samples for test after they were suspected of having the deadly flu.

They are aged 42, 38 and 8 years, but their identities have not been disclosed.

This is the first Swine Flu case identified in Nepal.

First detected in Mexico in early May, the Swine Flu pandemic has so far claimed 250 lives and has spread to over 113 countries.