Poland’s first carrier of the swine flu virus will be released from hospital today.

The 58-year-old woman, the inhabitant of the town of Tarnobrzeg, central Poland, is reportedly feeling well. She was admitted to the hospital in the locality of Mielec, south-eastern Poland with flu-like symptoms last Tuesday after returning from the United States. A day later tests confirmed she had contracted the AH1N1 virus.

Contrary to what has been feared, the woman's family did not become infected as a result of contact with the woman. 

Meanwhile, a 34-year-old man with flu symptoms has been admitted to hospital in Szczecin, north-western Poland. The man returned on Thursday from Britain where he said he had been in contact with a Danish man who had spent two weeks in Mexico.

On Saturday, he reported to a local hospital in Gorzów Wielkopolski in the west of Poland and was immediately transported to a hospital in Szczecin on the Baltic coast. The man’s wife and child are also under observation.  (di/pg)