S. Korea confirms 31 more flu cases

S. Korea confirms 31 more flu cases

18 July 2009 04:52 FOCUS News Agency

Seoul. South Korea's health authorities said Saturday that they have confirmed 31 more cases of influenza A, raising the number of flu inflections here to 727, Yonhap reports. The new patients, including an elementary school student and a staff member with an international choir competition, tested positive for the H1N1 virus after showing flu-like symptoms, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said in an emailed statement.The student was believed to have contracted the disease through contact with other recently confirmed patients in school. The staff member worked for a choir event that recently canceled part of its schedule due to the spread of the virus among foreign participants, the ministry said.As of Saturday morning, a total of 142 people remain in isolation for treatment, with the other confirmed patients having been discharged from hospitals as they showed no further flu symptoms. South Korea has been relatively insulated from the global pandemic, which has claimed hundreds of lives since the disease was first identified in April. No deaths have been reported here but concerns are growing that the disease may become more widespread as the number of reported infections is rising fast. In a precautionary move, the government earlier said it has set aside 174.8 billion won (USD 134.4 million) to secure enough vaccine to inoculate around 27 percent of the nation's population against the flu virus. The vaccine will be available beginning in November, ahead of the winter flu season, it added.