Swine flu virus hits Royal Ballet on Cuba visit

Tue Jul 21, 2009 12:43am BST

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HAVANA (Reuters) - Five members of Britain's Royal Ballet came down with the H1N1 swine flu virus during their just-ended visit to Cuba, but all have recovered, a spokeswoman for the dance company said on Monday.

Tests confirmed the dancers had the virus, they were isolated and given flu medicine the ballet had brought along on its first trip to Havana, said spokeswoman Elizabeth Bell.

The outbreak forced some personnel shuffling among the 96 dancers, but performances went on as scheduled.

"It was contained and the show went on," she said. "They are all well now."

A sixth dancer had flu-like symptoms and was isolated but the presence of the virus, which has become a pandemic, was not confirmed, Bell said.

The London-based Royal Ballet closed out five nights of performances in the Cuban capital on Saturday.

(Reporting by Jeff Franks; editing by Todd Eastham)

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