BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THOUGH the Caribbean had remained free from the A(H1N1) influenza strain, commonly called swine flu, during its initial global spread, the disease reached the region in mid-May and has been widely spread since. 

The Ministry of Health in Trinidad and Tobago reported yesterday (June 3) that an adult woman with “a very strong recent travel history to several countries having been affected by the virus” has tested positive for the disease. 

The ministry further indicated that the woman is doing well and remains isolated with continuous monitoring. 

“The Ministry of Health is also currently engaged in the testing of persons who may have come in contact with this patient,” the release stated. 

A(H1N1) was reportedly found in the patient after an initial test returned a negative result. After a second test that returned a positive result, authorities decided to detain the woman while a third test is waiting to be confirmed today (June 4). 

Trinidad is only the most recent country in the Caribbean to report an occurrence of the disease since the first confirmed case in the Caribbean was discovered in Cuba. 

A day prior, news spread that a 19-year-old male in Barbados with no recent travel history had contracted the disease. Because the young man had not travelled to a country known to contain the disease, it is certain that other cases exist but have not yet been confirmed within Barbados. 

“Fortunately for us, the Ministry has been proactive and we have trained some 2 400 Barbadians in an effort to deal with this situation should it have occurred. We are confident that this situation is controllable,” the Acting Health Minister Senator Irene Sandiford-Garner said after the case was reported. 

Weeks after the case in Cuba was confirmed, the English-speaking Caribbean countries of Jamaica, Bermuda and the Bahamas all reported persons infected with A(H1N1) that were quickly quarantined. 

Currently, the Federation of St. Kitts-Nevis remains free from the disease but continues to actively monitor all ports of entry into the country. As of May 20, one sample was sent from St. Kitts-Nevis to the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre and was confirmed to be negative for A(H1N1). 

The nation’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Patrick Martin, said that the Federation continues to monitor the situation and has an action plan in place to contain the disease if an infection were ever to be discovered in the country. 

Since the April emergence of the disease, A(H1N1) has infected a confirmed 19 273 persons worldwide, with a majority of these cases being in Mexico and the United States. One hundred and seventeen of those confirmed cases died after becoming ill, none of which were in the Caribbean.