Tokyo tests U.S. baby but says influenza A unlikely

Special Report:
World Tackles A/H1N1
Flu

TOKYO, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Japan tested a 4-month-old
U.S. baby who tested positive for A strain flu preliminary but said it is
unlikely to have been infected with the influenza A/H1N1, Japanese government
sources said Sunday.

The baby arrived at the Yokota Air Base in Tokyo from
the United States on a U.S. military-chartered plane on Friday and tested
positive for the type A influenza virus in a preliminary examination.

The baby and the mother were isolated after the first
tests proved positive, the Foreign Ministry has said.

Test samples from the infant were taken to the
National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo from the base on Saturday for
detailed tests.

Kyodo News said in an early Sunday report that the
results of the genetic screening showed that it is unlikely the baby has the
influenza A/H1N1, citing unspecified government sources.

Japan earlier clarified the country's first suspected
case, a Yokohama high-school student, was a false alarm. It has no confirmed
case of the new strain of the influenza A/H1N1 up till now.