Ukraine Has First Suspected Case of Swine Flu

Oleksander Bilovol, first deputy health minister, said the case involved a 24-year-old man who had been living in the U.S. city of Detroit.

The Health Ministry on Tuesday reported "with 99 percent certainty" its first case of H1N1 flu, a Ukrainian who had spent two years in the United States.

Oleksander Bilovol, first deputy health minister, said the case involved a 24-year-old man who had been living in the U.S. city of Detroit and became ill after flying back to Ukraine last week.

"On Saturday, specialists reported to me that the patient has A/H1N1 flu," Bilovol told a news conference. "There is a 99 percent certainty that this is A/H1N1. Within two to three weeks we will get (further) results."

He said the patient had been in contact with more than 70 people who were now under observation. None had reported any flu symptoms.

The virus, known as swine flu, spreads easily and mostly causes a mild illness. It has been diagnosed in more than 17,000 people in 64 countries, and has killed more than 100, mostly in Mexico, according to the World Health Organization.