A Chinese woman who was with a group of Chinese tourists visiting Sabah has been confirmed to have been infected by the Avian Infleunza A(H7N9) virus, said Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam.

Describing it as the first A(H7N9) case reported in the country , Subramaniam ( right ) said the 67-year-old tourist from Guangdong province in China was now receiving treatment at the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Kota Kinabalu, but her condition was stable.

He clarified that this type of bird flu could only spread to humans from infected poultry, and that the possibility of human to human infection was very remote.

"I hope people will be very clear about this virus, and I advise people not to panic.

"Nevertheless, we will take the necessary steps to ensure contact with the patient is reduced to the bare minimum," he told a press conference after chairing his ministry's post-cabinet meeting in Putrajaya today.

He said investigations found that the patient had received initial treatment in China for symptoms of fever, cough, running nose, joint pain and general weakness starting Jan 30, four days before arriving in the country.

He said she was in Sandakan till Feb 6 before leaving for Kota Kinabalu where she sought treatment at a private clinic and was subsequently referred to the hospital.

The virus was first detected in humans in China in March 2013.

To date, a total of 330 cases of H7N9 infections leading to 65 deaths among humans have been confirmed through laboratory tests worldwide.

"Monitoring by the World Health Organisation (WHO) found no evidence of human-to-human transmission so far, as had been reported in Taiwan where the country recorded two imported cases without contagion.

More than 2,000 dengue cases a week

Meanwhile, touching on the dengue situation in the country, Subramaniam expressed concern as to the number of fatalities, with 22 deaths recorded from January till Feb 10 and 11,879 cases detected as compared to 3,112 cases in the same period last year.

"The situation is not good, more than 2,000 cases a week. We all hope everyone will do their part to combat this menace," he said.

Subramanian also lauded a recent report by InternationalLiving.com, which listed Malaysia as among the top three countries in the world for health services.

Malaysia came behind France and Uruguay and ahead of countries like Spain, Italy, Ireland and New Zealand in the report.

"Besides this, Malaysia was also placed 18th out of 45 country for efficient health services by Bloomberg.com last year. I am confident the reports will boost health tourism for Malaysia," he added.

- Bernama