Sixteen people who traveled on the same plane as three Japanese passengers with swine flu all tested negative for the illness yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said.
Seventeen passengers entered Taiwan from Tokyo after they boarded the same flight from Detroit, Michigan, to Tokyo as three passengers who tested positive for swine flu.
“One of the 17 passengers is an American who traveled by plane to Hong Kong on Saturday and is being tested by health authorities there,” CDC Deputy Director and spokesperson Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said.
“As for the other 16 passengers, we received the test samples at about 10:30pm [on Saturday] night. They have all tested negative [for swine flu],” he said.
The 17 passengers arrived in Taiwan late on Friday night. Japanese authorities had not discovered any cases of the virus at the time and the 16 passengers who stayed in Taiwan did not show any flu symptoms at the airport.
The Japanese government announced on Saturday morning that a teacher and two students returning from North America had tested positive for swine flu, the first confirmed cases of the disease in that nation.
Although the 16 passengers were not affected by swine flu, the CDC will still continue to check on their physical condition for the next 10 days.
Taiwan does not have any confirmed cases of swine flu. Shih said he hoped by using the strictest standards, the CDC would be able to keep the flu from entering the country.
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