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Australian man, 52, becomes Taiwan's first confirmed case

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A 52-year-old Australian man who passed through a loophole in swine flu containment measures at Hong Kong's airport has become Taiwan's first confirmed case of the illness.

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The man travelled on a Cathay Pacific flight from New York on Sunday, and arrived in Hong Kong on Monday. He stayed an hour and a half in the transit area, where there are no temperature checks, before travelling on to Taipei.

He was in Hong Kong from about 6.30pm to 8pm and arrived in Taipei at about 9.30pm, where his temperature was found to be above 38 degrees Celsius. He was taken to Taoyuan General Hospital, where his condition is now stable.

The Centre For Health Protection said 28 of the passengers who sat near the man on flight CX381 from New York were believed to be in Hong Kong, while the rest had left for other destinations including Dhaka, Manila and Taipei.

All 61 passengers who sat in the nearest seven rows to the patient on flight CX468 to Taipei had ended their journey there, the centre said.

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The Taiwanese health authorities appealed to the passengers concerned from both flights to contact them as soon as possible.

The man, who is a doctor, developed a sore throat on the flight from New York but did not wear a mask, Taiwan's Centre for Disease Control said. 'He thought the symptoms might be sickness caused by a long-haul flight,' centre spokesman Shih Wen-yi said.

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