The UAE has quarantined an airline passenger arriving from Canada suspected of having swine flu in the first such reported case in the Gulf, said a report.

The health officials suspected that the passenger was showing symptoms of being infected with the A(H1N1) virus, after which he was isolated, the health ministry was quoted as saying by the official WAM news agency.

The passenger, whose nationality was not given, has been placed under observation, the ministry added.

The report did not mention where the passenger was quarantined or through which of the region’s two international airports he had transited-in the capital Abu Dhabi or in Dubai, a trade and tourism hub.

English-language daily Gulf News meanwhile cited an unnamed official as saying a Canadian doctor of Pakistani origin had presented himself to a hospital in Al Ain in the Abu Dhabi emirate after suffering suspected symptoms of swine flu.

The man’s blood sample has been sent to a laboratory in London, the official added.

The UAE, a federation of seven emirates where foreigners make up more than 80 percent of the 6.4-million strong population, has stepped up traveller surveillance and installed thermal cameras at airports.