Bahrain has registered its first H1N1 swine flu case of the year after an Ethiopian woman tested positive for the virus.

The 41-year-old woman has been placed in isolation at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC), said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

However, health officials are still conducting tests to find out how she contracted the disease as she had not travelled abroad.

"The patient walked into the Accident and Emergency department of Salmaniya Medical Complex on February 3 with high fever, urinary tract infection and other complications," said SMC chief of medical staff Dr Mohammed Al Awadhi.

"She is extremely ill and kept in isolation.

"We have a protocol in place especially during the flu season to conduct PCR tests on patients with high fever, cold or chest infection to know if they have H1N1 or coronavirus.

"In this case the patient's tests were positive for H1N1."

He also said tests were conducted on health care employees who were in close proximity of the patient.

However, the results of the tests have still not been released.

The last H1N1 case registered in Bahrain was in September 2012 when a 41-year-old Indian man died of the virus, after contracting it while on vacation in Kerala. - TradeArabia News Service