Mauritius on Monday reported its first case of the A/H1N1 flu in the country, according to reports reaching here.

Local media said the patient is a French who arrived in Mauritius on Wednesday and is expected to be allowed to leave his quarantine house later in the day.

Once spared by the virus as it was ravaging the other parts of the world, the flu has been knocking at the doors of the African countries in the sub-Saharan region.

At least five African countries in the region have so far reported confirmed cases of the flu, namely South Africa, Ethiopia, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya and Mauritius.

In mid this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the Pandemic alert status from phase 5 to phase 6, which meant that the disease had reached the emergency level.

According to the latest figures from the WHO website, there are 59,814 confirmed cases of the A/H1N1 around the world. 263 people have died of the disease.

Source: Xinhua