A man returning from a trip to New York has been confirmed as having the first case of the new H1N1 flu in Bahrain, Al Arabiya television reported today, citing the Gulf state's health ministry.
The channel gave no further details.
Yesterday, the United Arab Emirates said a man who arrived on a flight from Canada had been confirmed as the first case there. The UAE daily Gulf News quoted an unnamed official as saying the man was a Canadian doctor of Pakistani origin, who had gone to a hospital in the city of Al Ain to be tested for his flu symptoms.
Kuwait, used by the US military as a logistics base for neighbouring Iraq, said yesterday that 18 US soldiers had H1N1 flu, the first cases in the Gulf Arab oil-exporting region.
The World Health Organisation said today its labs had confirmed 12,515 infections with the newly discovered viral strain that has killed 91 people.
Reuters