A 45-year-old foreigner has been put under intensive medical observation at the Penang Hospital this afternoon after he sought treatment complaining of fever and backaches.

However Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai swiftly dismissed the rumours that the New Zealander was a A(H1N1) flu suspect, pointing out that only a series of in-depth tests on the patient’s samples can determine whether he is suffering from the pandemic influenza.

mca party election nomination day 131008 01 liow tiong lai According to him, the foreigner has arrived at Bayan Lepas International Airport in Penang from New Zealand via the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on April 25 - a day before screening facilities were set up at all entry points in the country.

The hospital authorities in Penang has sent the patient’s virus samples for tests to Institute of Medical Research (IMR), and the minister said he would know the test results by tonight.

The New Zealander, who is married to a local, is learnt had sought treatment at the hospital at noon.

He was swiftly put under intensive observation as part of the hospital pro-active measures against the swine flu epidemic.

Liow said the test being conducted by IMR would determine whether the foreigner was suffering from a ‘typeable’ flu or ‘non-typeable’ flu.

“If he has a typeable flu then it’s okay, he has a common flu. However, if he is having non-typeable flu, then we will quarantine him and carry out further tests to determine whether or not the patient has the A(H1N1).

“Only if and when he had been confirmed of having the A(H1N1) virus, the ministry would then inform the public and the World Health Organisation (WHO),” he said, adding that there was also a similar case in Sungai Buloh in Selangor.

The results of both cases will be known later tonight.

Liow, who is also MCA vice-president and Penang party chair, made the announcement at a press conference after chairing a state MCA liaison committee meeting in Georgetown today.

Travellers from infected countries to be screened

Immigration and marine departments at airports, border check points and ports are checking all visitors’ country of origins and disembarkation points.

Liow said that only travellers from the countries which have confirmed cases were being screened.

More teams are in the midst of being mobilised at airports nationwide to conduct screening for the deadly virus, he said.

swine flu hits hong kong Both Hong Kong and South Korea have reported their first cases of swine flu.

Hong Kong authorities said a traveler, who arrived from Mexico via Shanghai, had tested positive for A(H1N1) flu virus, which resulted in an entire hotel being quarantined.

In South Korea, authorities confirmed the country's first case involving a 51-year-old woman, believed to be a nun, who returned from Mexico on Sunday.

Denmark and France also joined the list of countries reporting their first cases.

WHO has warned that a pandemic is now imminent, raising its alert level to five out of six, but a senior official at the UN agency said a vaccine was in the pipeline in four to six months’ time.

Although Malaysia has not reported any confirmed any swine flu case, Liow said all relevant authorities have been put on high alert to stop it from arriving at our shores.