Jamaica reported its first cases of H1N1 yesterday, making it the fourth Caribbean island to confirm the virus' presence.
A 4-year-old girl from Linstead in St. Catherine has reportedly tested positive for the Influenza A H-1-N-1 virus popularly known as swine flu.
Health Ministry spokeswoman Marion Bullock-Ducasse says lab tests show that two Jamaicans apparently contracted the H1N1 virus during recent visits to New York City and have since recovered
Cases of Influenza A H1N1, formally called swine flu, were detected first in April of this year with cases in Mexico then the United States.
The World Health Organization has to date confirmed over 17,000 cases world wide of which it says 119 persons have died from the virus.
It is thought that the H1N1 flu spreads the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses are transmitted, mainly through the coughs and sneezes of people who are sick with the virus.
