Friends of Malta's first two swine flu victims yesterday joked about their quarantine experience on social-networking site Facebook.

One of them posted a photo of himself wearing a surgical mask and assured his friends that he did not yet have the disease.

The two victims, both rugby players, caught the disease while on holiday in Spain with about 20 of their friends who are all now under quarantine for seven days.

On Facebook they complained about having to stay home but rejoiced about making the front pages of the newspapers.

They also joked about passing on the disease to people they had met over the past few days.

Instead of being shocked or worried, they took the disease with a pinch of salt, possibly because they knew that their friends were already recovering.