KUWAIT CITY: Eighteen US soldiers infected with H1N1 flu have recovered after treatment on an American base in Kuwait and left the country, a Kuwaiti health official said yesterday.

"They were treated and they have fully recovered," said Youssef Mandakar, deputy head of Kuwait's public health department. He said the soldiers had shown "mild symptoms" of the disease upon their arrival at an Air Force base.

Kuwaiti authorities confirmed that the soldiers came from the United States, but would not say where they had gone, adding that the troops had no contact with the local population and were treated at US military facilities.