Thousands of athletes who will be competing in next month’s World University Games in Serbia will be required to provide a certificate saying they do not have swine flu, or they will be quarantined, the government said Wednesday.
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The unusual announcement by Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic came the same day that Serbia announced its first swine flu case: a 29-year-old man who had arrived in Serbia from Argentina.
Djelic said athletes and guests at the games also will be checked for swine flu on daily basis as part of measures designed to curb the spread of the disease.
When the World Health Organization declared swine flu to be a pandemic earlier this month, officials said the virus was now unstoppable. The agency does not recommend that countries test people for swine flu when they are either entering or exiting a country.
So far, more than 55,000 cases of swine flu have been reported worldwide, including 238 deaths. Most cases are mild and people do not need medical treatment to get better. People infected with swine flu can be contagious before they get the symptoms, which include a fever and cough.
The World University Games is an international multi-sport event organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation. Competitors from 142 countries are scheduled to take part in the games in Serbia on July 1-12, with a total of about 9,000 people on the sports teams, including coaches.
They all will be required to provide a certificate confirming that they do not have swine flu, or they will be quarantined, Djelic said.
Twelve players have been chosen for the U.S. team at the World University Games, including All-Big Ten first-team selections Talor Battle of Penn State and Evan Turner of Ohio State.
The American team, coached by Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan, also will include Deon Thompson of North Carolina, Corey Fisher of Villanova, Lazar Hayward of Marquette, Robbie Hummel of Purdue, James Anderson of Oklahoma State, Trevor Booker of Clemson, Craig Brackins of Iowa State, Da’Sean Butler of West Virginia, Quincy Pondexter of Washington and Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State.
