Japan confirms more swine flu cases, total at 56

Health 5/17/2009 5:02:00 PM



TOKYO, May 17 (KUNA) -- The Japanese health authorities said on Sunday afternoon that 44 more people were confirmed to have been infected with swine flu, bringing the country's tally to 56, including 52 cases of domestic infections in western Japan.
Of the 44 newly confirmed cases, which involved high school and college students as well as their family members and teachers, 11 patients are in Osaka Prefecture and 33 in neighboring Hyogo Prefecture, the Health and Welfare Ministry said.The outbreak comes after eight students from two high schools in neighboring Kobe city were found infected on Saturday as Japan's first domestic cases of the new flu. In response, authorities in the two prefectures have decided to close more than 1,000 public schools and kindergartens for certain periods beginning Saturday.
"We need to quickly collect information on the current infection to prevent the further spread of infections," Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told reporters. The government is set to hold a conference on countermeasures on Monday which is to be attended by Prime Minister Taro Aso.
In addition to the 52 cases of domestic infections, four other cases were found through health inspections at Tokyo's Narita International Airport among a group of Japanese students and teachers, who arrived May 8 on a flight from the US after a two-week school trip to Canada. Among them, two students and a teacher have been declared free of the flu and have been discharged from hospitals.