MADRID, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A human case of swine flu (H1N1) has been detected in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia, regional health authorities said on Friday.
The Catalan regional government (Generalitat) reported that the case was identified in the province of Lleida. According to the regional Health Department, it is the fourth such human infection reported in Spain since 2009.
Catalonia's Secretary for Public Health, Esteve Fernandez, said the patient is an 83-year-old resident who is in good condition. The infection was detected during routine epidemiological surveillance after the patient visited a health center for unrelated medical reasons.
Fernandez said the patient had no known direct contact with pigs or farms. Standard epidemiological and microbiological protocols were activated following the diagnosis.
Authorities stressed that the case is not related to the ongoing outbreak of African swine fever among wild boar near Barcelona, noting that African swine fever does not affect humans.
Regional and national health experts are continuing to monitor the situation in line with established public health procedures.
The 2009 global swine flu pandemic was estimated to have caused around 300,000 deaths worldwide, according to the medical journal The Lancet. ■