A female Japanese passenger tested positive for the influenza A virus in a preliminary after arriving at Narita international airport on Monday afternoon, local media reported, citing health ministry officials.

The woman, who has got a sore throat and a cough, is to undergo further tests to determine whether she has contracted the new flu, the officials said.

The patient arrived at 3:45 PM from Los Angeles after staying in Las Vegas, the United States, and was kept in quarantine at the Japanese Red Cross Narita Hospital in Narita, Chiba Prefecture.

Forty-six of the passengers, who are believed to have come into close contact with the woman, have also been quarantined and their health conditions are being monitored, said the officials.

Though the World Health Organization (WHO) has received reports of 1,003 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 influenza from 20 countries, no cases have yet been confirmed in Japan.

(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2009)