Doctors have cleared a 31-year-old man, who has been travelling to the United States for the last two weeks, of having the A(H1N1) virus.

The man was admitted to the Sarawak Hospital's isolation ward last night after having symptoms similar to the influenza.

dr ramlee rahmat ramli Earlier, Health Ministry deputy director-general Dr Ramlee Rahmat (left) said the man, a local, returned to Sarawak on May 1 and had fever, cough and flu, symptoms that match those for influenza A(H1N1), yesterday.

A swab sample taken from the man's throat was sent to the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) in Kuala Lumpur this morning for further tests.

Malaysia still free

swine flu pandemic outbreak 050509 05 "At the moment, there is only one suspected case in Sarawak and we have activated our public health response to identify those who have been in contact with him to monitor their health," said Ramlee

"Overall so far, including in Sarawak, there were a total of three suspected cases of influenza A H1N1), with Penang and Selangor having one case each but both were negative," he said.

Earlier, he said Malaysia was still free from the deadly influenza outbreak as the government had taken pro-active measures to prevent it from spreading to the country in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

"We have the facilities to detect it, no need to worry about it, you will be taken care of" he said.