Switzerland confirms first swine flu case

Geneva, April 30 (DPA) A man who recently returned from Mexico has been confirmed as having Switzerland's first case of swine flu, medical officials said Thursday.

The announcement about the 19-year-old man's condition was made by a hospital in the canton of Baden overnight following a laboratory confirmation. His condition was deemed stable.

The case had initially been misdiagnosed earlier in the week, media reports said, and the man was sent home from hospital only to return.

He was being held in isolation and treated with the anti-viral Tamiflu.

There were 24 other suspected cases in Switzerland.

Late Wednesday, the World Health Organisation raised its pandemic influenza alert level to the second highest, phase 5, indicating sustained human-to-human transmission and an outbreak that was spreading across countries.