The ill co-pilot currently being treated at Hasan Sadikin General Hospital in Bandung, West Java, has not contracted the H1N1 flu, a government official said Wednesday.

The Health Ministry's director general of disease control and environmental hygiene (P2PL) Tjandra Yoga Aditama assured the media the co-pilot did not have the symptoms of the notorious flu.

A suspect, he said, was someone showing symptoms of influenza, such as a high fever (more than 38 degree Celsius) and an acute respiratory infection.

A suspect, he continued, must also have a history of contact with an H1N1-positive person or had previously visited an area where a person had contracted the disease, within seven days prior to the sickness.

"He is being treated at the hospital because of our medical team's caution," Tjandra said in a press statement.

Tjandra also said the last suspected patients from overseas who was treated at Sanglah Hospital in Bali, and the two others treated at Pondok Indah General Hospital in Jakarta all tested negative for the H1N1 flu.

"There are currently no cases of the H1N1 flu in Indonesia," Tjandra said.

Primal Soedjana, a doctor in charge of the co-pilot's medical treatment, concurred, saying the co-pilot had no history of contact with anyone iuth the H1N1 flu, nor had visited any country that had confirmed cases.

Primal, who is a lung specialist and a member of the hospital's special infection disease handling team, however said that the co-pilot was was being treated as a flu suspect.

The co-pilot was being treated in an isolated room. "All medical team members are required to wear personal protection devices similar to that of an astronaut," Primal said.

The isolation efforts, according to Primal, were in line with the standard operational procedure issued by the Health Ministry.

The procedure, he said, required seven days of isolation with three virus checks on the first, second and seventh day.

He said the team of doctors had categorized the airman as being "under investigation" as they were still waiting for the blood and phlegm test results from the Health Development and Research Center in Jakarta.

He expressed hope the test results would be announced soon so they would be able to provide the appropriate medical treatment.

Primal said the copilot so far had been showing significant signs of improvement after two days of medical treatment at the hospital.

He said the patient had started to complain less of painful swallowing, a runny nose and muscle stiffness.

"His respiratory problems are also getting better. He can speak normally, but is still weak as a result of the sickness," Primal said Wednesday.

His body temperature, he went on, had significantly decreased from the previous day's figure of 39 degrees Celsius to between 36.5 and 37 degrees. The 75-milligram twice-daily Tamiflu therapy was also continuing.

Primal said the patient's chest X-ray image showed minor spots on the lungs, similar to pneumonia, but also common in an ordinary bout of the flu.

Separately, in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, the status of S, 27, a migrant worker from East Lombok who is currently being treated in an isolation room at Mataram Hospital for high fever, is being carefully monitored.

"We have yet to name S a suspect. We are still waiting for the throat test results from the Health Ministry," head of the hospital's SARS and H5N1 and H1N1 flu handling team, Salim Thalib, said Wednesday.

Salim said the last medical check of S on Wednesday had shown a decrease in the patient's temperature to 37 degrees Celsius.

The latter patient also showed no more signs of the flu or a cough. Yet, he added, isolation was being continued for precautionary measures.

"We expect to receive the test result within the next four days. If they are negative then the patient can return home. The *isolation* is necessary because the standard operational procedure requires it," he said.

In response to S's request to go home, the hospital finally allowed the patient's family to visit S in the treatment room but they were required to wear personal protection devices prepared by the hospital.

S, who worked in Malaysia, was admitted to the hospital Monday after being detected by a thermal scan at Selaparang Airport in Mataram returning from Malaysia.

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