ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Newfoundland and Labrador has confirmed its first case of H1N1 flu.

The Department of Health and Community Services says the case was confirmed earlier Saturday from a specimen sent from the Central Newfoundland Regional Health Centre in Grand Falls-Windsor.

The department says a young man who experienced typical symptoms of influenza was seen by a doctor on Thursday and has since recovered.

No other details about the man were released.

Until this case, Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province and territory in the country that didn't have a confirmed case of the H1N1 flu.

Although this is the province's first confirmed case, the chief medical officer said earlier this month it was possible someone in Newfoundland and Labrador had had the flu but hadn't sought medical attention.

Dr. Faith Stratton, the province's chief medical officer of health, said she wasn't surprised that the first case has been confirmed.

"As other Canadian jurisdictions have recorded cases of H1N1 influenza, we anticipated it would be only a matter of time before Newfoundland and Labrador recorded its first case," she said in a news release.

"We should expect to see other cases over the summer months and into the fall flu season."

The first case of H1N1 flu was detected in Canada in April.