A Roseville teen who has been quarantined in Israel with suspected swine flu since Thursday has made a full recovery and was scheduled to arrive back in the United States this week.

Gregory Harnage, Jr., 19, said in a phone interview from his room in Jerusalem he was feeling better after coming down with a fever and other symptoms last week and would board an El Al flight for the U.S. sometime Tuesday.

“I feel totally fine; way better,” the Sacramento State student said, likening the flu to “a really bad cold.”

The illness came at the end of a 10-day trip with Taglit-Birthright Israel, which sponsors visits to Israel for young Jews.

Fifteen Birthright participants have come down with the flu and forced to be quarantined, according the The Jerusalem Post. It’s unclear how they contracted it, Harnage said, but are believed to have picked it up on their travels.

“It’s very rare to get in contact with pork here so it has to be by travel,” he said. “That’s most likely how people like us Americans had it.”

After going to a doctor with symptoms, an oral test confirmed the illness was the H1N1, or swine flu, virus, triggering a required quarantine under Israeli health guidelines.

While receiving treatment including a course of Tamiflu, Harnage has been isolated in a Jerusalem youth hostel, Judaean Guest House. Harnage said Monday from his room he’s been trying to make the most of it, and has been keeping in touch with friends and family through Facebook.

Still, he added: “I’m definitely starting to get antsy and wanting to leave badly.”

Harnage is the son of Roseville residents Sophie Harnage, a nurse, and Gregory Harnage Sr., a retired firefighter who runs Placer Safety, a firefighter safety company.

Sophie said she was shocked to hear her son had come down with the flu, which caused a near-panic in the U.S. last month before apparently settling down.

“I hadn’t heard about (swine flu) in four weeks; it disappeared,” Sophie said. “And this happened on the same day the World Health Organization reaised the alert level to a pandemic.”

Both parents said they had been especially worried because their son suffers from type one diabetes.

“It’s very, very difficult to control blood sugar when you have another thing going on there,” Sophie said.

Despite the turn of events, Harnage said he had a great time visiting Israel – the culmination of a lifelong dream.

On his trip, Harnage visited the the Golan Heights, Dead Sea, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

“I’ve always wanted to do this,” he said, adding: “I’ve met some great people being quarantined with them.”