Lao Ministry of Public Health confirmed that a 27-year-old Australian coming to Laos was tested positive for the A/H1N1 flu, becoming the first case of A/H1N1 patient in the country, the Lao News Agency reported on Thursday.

The infected person did not require hospitalization but he was in quarantine. The patient has recovered although he was not treated with the Tamiflu vaccine, said the ministry.

The man had been traveling in the countries where there were confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu. Currently, the ministry has been contacting those people who had close contacts with him and monitoring them for flu symptoms.

A representative of the World Health Organization in Laos anticipated that there would be more cases in the country and called on all members of the community who develop any signs of the flu such as fever with a cough, sore throat, runny nose, muscle aches and aching joints to immediately contact a local health agency.

(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2009)