Officials hunt for Canadian man who may have H1N1: ministry

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by Sam Rith
Thursday, 04 June 2009

Man may have flown next to Taiwanese child confirmed with swine flu, says Health Ministry, which wants him to come forward for testing.

CAMBODIAN health officials said Wednesday that they are searching for a recently arrived Canadian man who may be infected with the influenza A(H1N1) virus, commonly known as swine flu.

"We have not found the Canadian man, as he did not fill in the form indicating where he will stay," said Dr Sok Touch, director of the Communicable Diseases Control Department at the Ministry of Health.

"We are continuing to look for him," he added.

The man, who arrived May 31 at Phnom Penh International Airport on a flight from Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport, may have been exposed to the H1N1 strain of flu on his flight into Taiwan, officials say.

According to Taiwanese news agencies, an 8-year-old Taiwanese boy who arrived in the country from Texas in the United States, via Los Angeles, was diagnosed Monday morning with H1N1, a day after he arrived in Taiwan.

Sok Touch said officials were searching for the Canadian to give him a medical checkup because they believe the Canadian sat next to the infected child on the flight from the United States.

Thong Sophat, deputy director of Phnom Penh International Airport, confirmed Wednesday that all passengers from all flights were obliged to walk through a thermal scanner before clearing Cambodian customs.

He said the Canadian man had not been identified as having a fever by the machine. Several passengers had been detected as feverish, he said, but after testing were found not to be infected with swine flu.

Sok Touch said airport officials had distributed information forms with phone numbers to all passengers, and he hoped the Canadian would contact health officials if he becomes ill. Cambodia has not reported any cases of H1N1, he added.