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Flu A/H1N1 cases keep rising in Asia-Pacific region Thursday

2009-06-05 09:49 BJT

Special Report: World tackles A/H1N1 flu |

Hong Kong, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The flu A/H1N1 infection cases keep rising in the Asia-Pacific region as the flu-stricken countries and regions, including Japan, Australia, the Philippines and Thailand, all reported fresh confirmed cases on Thursday.

With five more cases confirmed in Shizuoka, Tokyo and Chiba, Japan's tally of confirmed cases of the new strain of flu virus infection reached 410 in Japan on Thursday, the health authorities said.

In Tokyo, a 25-year-old male student who returned from the United States on Tuesday tested positive for the flu. In Shizuoka, local authorities confirmed that two men, in their 20s, have been infected with the new flu virus.

The cases were reported at a time when the flu appeared to be running out of steam in Japan.

With the resumption of classes at Kobe Gakuin University High School Wednesday, all schools, which were closed amid the flu fears, reopened in western Japan's Kobe.

Thailand's Public Health Ministry confirmed on Thursday the country's first human-to-human case of A/H1N1 flu infection.

The ministry said the patient is a 19-year-old man, who has not traveled abroad. He was infected by his mother, who was sick of the A/H1N1 flu after returning from the United States.

His mother, 49, developed the flu symptoms as she and her husband returned from the U.S. on May 25. The husband was earlier confirmed to have been infected with the flu.

His parents have already recovered from the disease, the health authority said, without revealing any details about the latest patient's condition.

In addition, the source said the country's eighth case of the A/H1N1 flu is a 20-year-old woman, whose flu symptoms had started from May 30 while she was in the United States. The woman arrived in Thailand on Monday and was admitted to hospital on Tuesday.

The Philippine health authorities said seven more patients were tested positive for influenza A/H1N1 on Thursday, bringing the total number of the country's confirmed cases to 29.

One of the newly-confirmed cases is a 20-year-old male overseas student at the De La Salle University, who is a contact of the first case confirmed at the school on Wednesday.