China isolates American in swine flu fear

BEIJING, May 29 (UPI) -- An American who took his wife to China to celebrate their wedding anniversary says he found out first hand how vigilant the Chinese are about swine flu.

Miguel Gomez, 29, of Virginia, says Chinese medical officials removed him from the plane because his temperature was 0.3 degrees above normal, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Gomez says he was separated from his wife and rushed by ambulance to a quarantine facility near Beijing's airport where masked attendants took his temperature every few hours.

After three days of normal temperatures and no sign of the flu, Gomez was released.

He says before leaving he was asked to sign papers saying he had been treated well. The hospital gave him a parting gift of a get-well card and two bottles of hand sanitizer.

The Post says some public health experts have said China's aggressive measures should serve as a model for other countries.

Of 13,400 confirmed cases of swine flu worldwide, only 14 have been reported in China.