Tallinn - A 29-year-old Estonian man was being kept isolated in a Tallinn hospital Saturday after becoming the first confirmed case of swine flu in the Baltic states.

On Friday evening tests on a second sample taken from the man confirmed that his flu-like symptoms were a caused by the A(H1N1) virus, more commonly known as swine flu.

The patient returned to Estonia on May 27 after visiting the United States and felt ill soon afterwards.

A first sample taken on Friday morning tested positive for swine flu, and the result was confirmed by a second sample.

The patient is now being kept under surveillance in hospital and his friends and family are also being given health checks, the Estonian Health Ministry said.

Despite numerous suspected cases of swine flu in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, no cases had been confirmed until now. Requests for tests have risen in recent days as summer colds and hay fever cases spark fears about swine flu.

The Estonian Health Protection Inspectorate repeated its recommendation for anyone returning from a trip to a country where the new flu virus has been found to monitor their state of health for a week after their return.

The World Health Organization has so far recorded over 15,500 cases of the new influenza in over 50 countries, with nearly 100 deaths. Most cases are in Mexico and the United States.(dpa)