The Colombian government on Sunday confirmed the first case of influenza A/H1N1 in the country.

The patient, a man of 42 who recently returned from Mexico, is now in a stable condition, Public Protection Minister Diego Palacio told media.

The man is one of 18 people with the flu symptoms found in Zipaquira, close to Colombia's capital Bogota.

"We have sent 18 samples to a laboratory in Atlanta to check the virus, and among them, one is positive," Palacio said.

The government has taken measures to confront the pandemic, including declaring a nationwide emergency, he said.

He said there are 108 suspect cases in the country.

Ecuador's Health Ministry on Sunday ordered the national flag carrier Ecuadorian Military Air Transport (TAME) to halt flights linking northeast city Esmeraldas and Colombian city Cali, after the Colombian government confirmed the first case of A/H1N1 flu.

The TAME will immediately halt all cross-border flights for 30 days, in line with the Health Ministry instruction, Xavier Andrade, who heads TAME's civilian business unit in Esmeralda told media.

The airline flies three planes to Colombia and three flights back a week.

(Xinhua News Agency May 4, 2009)