AN air steward was brought to Northwick Park Hospital with suspected swine flu – the killer pig respiratory disease that broke out in humans in North America.
The British Airways employee was taken to the hospital in Watford Road, Harrow, from Heathrow Airport in west London because it has a specialist infectious diseases unit.
A spokesman for the airline confirmed: "One of our cabin crew felt unwell during the flight and as a precaution was taken to hospital for a check-up."
Swine influenza is a contagious porcine respiratory disease that can be caught by people and occasionally can pass from human to human, as has happened in this case.
Global health experts fear the strain is responsible for the deaths of up to 60 people in Mexico. Normally, swine flu can be treated by two types of antiviral medication.
The Health Protection Agency said four human cases of the H1N1 virus infection have been identified in California and Texas in the Unites States and in four districts in Mexico, and to date, no cases of swine flu have been identified in the UK or anywhere in Europe.
In a statement, North West London Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We can confirm that a male patient was being treated in Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, following his return from Mexico.
"He had flu-like symptoms and is responding well to treatment.
"The patient was admitted directly to a side room and the hospital is scrupulously following infection control procedures to ensure there is no risk to any other individual in the hospital."
On Sunday, the trust confirmed tests carried out on the patient were negative, indicating he did not have swine flu.
