Laniado Treats 1st Israeli Swine Flu Patient

As the concern for an influenza pandemic reaches critical levels, and the World Health Organisation raises the level of alert from 4 to 5, Laniado Hospital has been busy treating the first Israeli victim fo the swine flu.

Tomer Vagim, a 26-year-old resident of Moshav Geulim, was admitted on Sunday to Laniado Hospital in Netanya after complaining of flu-like symptoms upon returning from a working visit to Mexico. Laniado Hospital's medical director, Dr Avinoam Skolnik, said Israeli Health Ministry laboratory tests confirmed swine flu and the patient was put in the Isolation Unit. Dr. Skolnik said he didn't know whether the strain was the same one that appeared in Mexico. He disclosed that Israeli Health Ministry laboratory tests confirmed the virus, but the patient has fully recovered and is in "excellent condition."

Above: Dr. Shimoni Tzvi is helped into a protective suit at Laniado Hospital in the coastal city of Netanya, Tuesday, April 28. The Israeli Health Ministry on Tuesday confirmed the country's first case of swine flu, saying a 26-year-old man who recently returned from Mexico had contracted the virus. Hospital officials said he has fully recovered. AP / Dan Balilty

Among the Israelis who were thought to have contracted the virus was the 5-year-old niece of Tomer Vagim. The director of the hospital announced on Wednesday that the lab tests of the 5-year-old girl had come back negative.

The Netanya hospital also reported that another child had been hospitalized there, but his admittance was not made public. The boy also underwent a series of tests, but they all came back negative for swine flu.