Japan and Australia Swine flu h1n1 (virus)

Swine flu virus H1N1 in Japan and Australia

Japan and Australia confirmed their first cases of swine flu virus H1N1 on Saturday, but there have been no deaths in both countries. The new H1N1 flu killed its first patient in Canada, and is the third country after Mexico and the United States to report a death from the virus that has made more than 3,400 people in 28 countries ill.

Japan says the first three confirmed cases was a man in the 40-year and two teenagers who had spent time in Canada.

The chief medical officer in the Canadian province of Alberta said Friday that the woman in her 30s who died on April 28 had not traveled to Mexico, the epicenter of the swine flu outbreak, suggesting a more sustained spread of infection.

Canadian woman confirmed dead raised global toll from the virus to 48. The virus is a strange coupling between triple-hybrid viruses with the pig, human and bird elements, and a European swine virus not seen before in North America.

Japanese government scrambled Saturday to track the travelers who came on the same flight as the three people diagnosed with the country's first confirmed cases of swine flu. Australia also joined the ranks of the affected country with its first confirmed case.