The Japanese woman who tested positive for A-strain flu after returning from the United States has tested negative for the new type of A/H1N1 flu, government sources said on Tuesday.

The patient arrived at the Narita international airport on Monday afternoon 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.

However, further tests for the new H1N1 influenza virus proved negative, a health ministry official said.

Japan has yet to confirm any cases of H1N1 flu, although several patients have tested positive for the influenza A virus.

(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2009)