NAIROBI - Kenya's health ministry on Monday reported the country's first case of the A(H1N1) virus, one of only a few confirmed swine flu cases on the African continent.

"The minister of public health and sanitation Beth Mugo will today address a press conference on a confirmed case of A(H1N1) flu in the country," a ministry spokesman said in a statement.

The disease has infected nearly 60,000 worldwide and killed 263, according to the World Health Organisation.

Africa has been relatively spared but cases, mainly in people who had been travelling from North America, have over the past month been reported in Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa.

Kenya, another of the continent's major transport hubs, had been on high alert in recent weeks.