Sri Lankan health authorities said on Friday that three more A/H1N1 flu cases were confirmed on Thursday, bringing the total number of A/H1N1 flu cases in the country to 44.

The Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health said in its latest report that the new patients have arrived from Australia and Britain.

The first confirmed case of A/H1N1 flu in the island was reported on June 16. The first patient is an eight-year-old boy who is an Australian citizen. Three more relatives of his family had also been confirmed as positive cases for the infection.

Officials from the Health Ministry said there is no reason to be panic as the government has already initiated a surveillance program at the main entry point to the country, the Bandaranaike International Airport to detect possible cases of the disease coming to the country.

All arriving passengers are screened by thermal scanners installed before the immigration desk and those detected with high fever are directed to the health desk by public health inspectors attached to this point.

The government also said 20 hospitals had been identified as sentinel hospitals for pandemic influenza preparedness.

Clinical case management capacity in these hospitals had been strengthened by establishing/upgrading isolation units, supply of antiviral drug stocks, among others.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2009)