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DUBLIN - Ireland confirmed its first case of H1N1 flu Saturday after tests on a sample from a man who had just returned from Mexico came back positive, officials said.
"We have now received the test back from the UK and they have confirmed that it is a positive. It is influenza H1N1," a government spokesman said.
"It is not an escalation of the situation. It is mainly a confirmation of what we already felt was the case. The probable has been confirmed as a positive."
The infected man, from the east of Ireland, had recently returned from Mexico, the spokesman added. He had already been singled out as Ireland's first "probable" H1N1 flu case on Thursday.
All of the other suspected cases identified had tested negative.
After news of the first case being confirmed, Chief Medical Officer Doctor Tony Holohan insisted that Irish officials had responded appropriately to the H1N1 flu threat.
"All appropriate clinical and public health actions have been taken," he said. "The individual is recovering well."
In nearby Britain, 15 people have been infected with the A(H1N1) virus: 12 in England and three in Scotland.
The World Health Organisation said Saturday there were 658 cases of H1N1 flu in 16 countries.
In Mexico, where the virus originated last month, the total number of confirmed cases was 443, including 16 deaths.
Its government has said the country's H1N1 outbreak seems to be "in a stabilisation phase".
The only other death has been a Mexican child who was visiting relatives in the US state of Texas.
In Asia, cases have been confirmed in South Korea and Hong Kong.
Most cases outside Mexico have involved only mild symptoms of the illness treatable with existing flu medicines.
Some experts suggest the virus may have weakened as it was carried outside the country.
- AFP /ls
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