TOKYO, April 30 (UPI) -- The first suspected case in Japan of the new strain of swine flu has been detected, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said.
The patient is a 17-year-old male high school student in Yokohama, who was in British Columbia, Canada, on a school trip April 10-25, Kyodo posted on on its Web site.
Masuzoe said Friday that further tests would be conducted to confirm whether the teen is infected with H1N1, the clinical identification for the swine flu strain that originated in Mexico and spread to four continents.
''We have only a small number of samples and cannot deny this is a (suspected) case of the new type of flu and that's why we reported it to the central government,'' a Yokohama city official told Kyodo.
Meanwhile, an international flight passenger detained after initially testing positive for flu wasn't infected with swine flu, Japanese officials said. The Japanese woman, flying on a Northwest Airlines flight that originated in Los Angeles, was taken to a Narita hospital Thursday after the initial test, Kyodo reported.
Twenty passengers seated near the woman will undergo follow-up checks on their health, officials said.
