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patient admitted to the Hasan Sadikin General Hospital (RSHS) in Bandung on Thursday may potentially be the first person in Indonesia carrying the H1N1 virus.

Primal Sudjana, a doctor from the hospital's special team for infectious diseases, said the status was given to 31-year-old EK because the patient had visited the United States and South Korea, two countries where H1N1 positive cases have been confirmed.

"This is our first case, which is strengthened by the fact that EK went to the two countries where virus cases were found positive," Primal said Thursday to the detik.com news portal.

Since the application of the flu status, the standard operational procedures required for a H1N1 patient have been applied. Both the treating doctors and paramedics must wear complete sterile protective outfits.

Primal said EK's blood sample had been sent to the health and research center for further examination. The result is expected to be received within a few days.

A 75-milligram dose of Tamiflu has been administered to EK twice per day as required, Primal added.

EK was in Los Angeles from May 6 to 12, and had a transit stopover in Seoul, South Korea, on the way home to Indonesia. EK was held for nine hours at the airport in Seoul after a medical team detected a high fever of 38 degrees Celsius in the traveler.

After a nine-hour examination, however, EK was declared H1N1 negative. EK also passed the thermal scanner at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Cengkareng, Wednesday, undetected.

Upon arriving home, however, the fever re-surfaced. EK complained of throat pain and was taken to the nearest community health center.

"From that center EK was referred to this hospital because of the history of contact with countries where the virus was confirmed to have existed," Primal told journalists in Bandung on Thursday.

The hospital has also been treating ES, 39, a co-pilot of a commercial airplane, who was has been "under investigation" since Monday for a high fever. Treatment for the virus was given to the co-pilot because symptoms of influenza-like-illness (ILI), such as high fever, throat pain and pneumonia, were detected.

However the co-pilot, from Malaysia, was eventually cleared of suspicion of carrying the virus because there was no history of contact with countries where the virus was confirmed.