Police have detained a man in central China on allegations that he pretended to catch the A/H1N1 flu virus in California.

The man, surnamed Qiao, came to the outpatient department of a hospital in Xiangfan city, Hubei Province, on Monday, claiming he had a fever and a swollen throat, said police in Xiangfan.

He told doctors that he had flown into Shanghai the previous Monday after touring California, and then took a plane to the provincial capital, Wuhan, and a bus home to Xiangfan, said a police statement.

Qiao's temperature measured normal, but the hospital reported his condition to the city's A/H1N1 flu prevention and control office.

While Qiao was quarantined, a group of medical experts and epidemiologists rushed to the hospital, to take blood samples and a swab from his throat for A/H1N1 tests. The results were negative.

The police later found no record of Qiao leaving China.

Qiao was detained for "lying about an epidemic situation, wasting public resources and disturbing public order", said the statement.

As of 2:30 PM on Tuesday, China had 41 confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases.

The United States reported 10,053 cases of A/H1N1 flu on Monday. The same day, California health officials reported the state's first two deaths from the virus.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2009)