Sri Lankan health authorities said Friday that 75 A/H1N1 flu cases have been confirmed in the country, but most of them only have minor symptoms and have been discharged from the hospital.

Officials from the Epidemiological Unit of the Ministry of Health said about 90 percent of the patients contracted the disease abroad, while 10 percent of them contracted in Sri Lanka.

They said most of the patients are Sri Lankan citizens working abroad.

The first confirmed case of A/H1N1 flu in Sri Lanka was reported on June 16. The first patient is a 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 and upgrading isolation units, supply of antiviral drug stocks, among others.

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2009)