KUWAIT CITY — Eighteen U.S. soldiers infected with swine flu have recovered after treatment on an American base in Kuwait and left the country, a Kuwaiti official said Sunday.
"They were treated and they have fully recovered,” said Youssef Mandakar, deputy head of Kuwait’s public health department. He said the soldiers had shown "mild symptoms” of the disease upon their arrival at an Air Force base.
Kuwaiti authorities confirmed that the soldiers came from the U.S., but would not say where they had gone, adding that the troops had no contact with the local population and were treated at U.S. military facilities.
"Kuwait is very comfortable with the measures taken there,” said Ibrahim Abdul-Hadi, an under-secretary at Kuwait’s Health Ministry.
He said the U.S. military has examined and quarantined a number of soldiers who mixed with the infected ones as a precaution.
Kuwait is a major ally of Washington and a logistics base for U.S. military personnel serving in Iraq.
Raad Mahmoud, a spokesman for the Iraqi Health Ministry, said precautions are being taken at airports and border entry points, but he said Iraqi authorities have no authority over U.S. troops and the foreigners who enter with them.
He said the U.S. military has to administer medical tests to everybody when they enter the country, and the military must present the reports to the ministry.
U.S. Army Maj. Jose Lopez, a military spokesman, said there were no reported cases of swine flu among American troops in Iraq.
Elsewhere in the Gulf
The United Arab Emirates confirmed its first case of the illness, saying an airline passenger coming from Canada was found to be infected and was being treated at a hospital.
The country’s health minister, Hanif Hassan, was quoted by the official news agency as saying the patient no longer showed symptoms but would remain in treatment for 10 days. The report did not give the patient’s nationality.
"They were treated and they have fully recovered,” said Youssef Mandakar, deputy head of Kuwait’s public health department. He said the soldiers had shown "mild symptoms” of the disease upon their arrival at an Air Force base.
Kuwaiti authorities confirmed that the soldiers came from the U.S., but would not say where they had gone, adding that the troops had no contact with the local population and were treated at U.S. military facilities.
"Kuwait is very comfortable with the measures taken there,” said Ibrahim Abdul-Hadi, an under-secretary at Kuwait’s Health Ministry.
He said the U.S. military has examined and quarantined a number of soldiers who mixed with the infected ones as a precaution.
Kuwait is a major ally of Washington and a logistics base for U.S. military personnel serving in Iraq.
Raad Mahmoud, a spokesman for the Iraqi Health Ministry, said precautions are being taken at airports and border entry points, but he said Iraqi authorities have no authority over U.S. troops and the foreigners who enter with them.
He said the U.S. military has to administer medical tests to everybody when they enter the country, and the military must present the reports to the ministry.
U.S. Army Maj. Jose Lopez, a military spokesman, said there were no reported cases of swine flu among American troops in Iraq.
Elsewhere in the Gulf
The United Arab Emirates confirmed its first case of the illness, saying an airline passenger coming from Canada was found to be infected and was being treated at a hospital.
The country’s health minister, Hanif Hassan, was quoted by the official news agency as saying the patient no longer showed symptoms but would remain in treatment for 10 days. The report did not give the patient’s nationality.
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