S. Korea confirms 4 more type-A flu cases

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with latest confirmed cases)
SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's health authorities confirmed four
additional cases of type-A Influenza Tuesday afternoon, bringing the total number
of people infected with the virus to 27.
The four -- a 22-year-old Australian woman, two American women in their 20s and
an American man whose age is yet to be disclosed -- returned from overseas in
mid-May and have been quarantined with flu-like symptoms, according to the
Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs.
They were teaching English at the same institute where 15 teachers were confirmed
to be infected with the highly contagious virus over the weekend, the ministry
said.
The additional outbreak comes just hours after the ministry announced that a
28-year-old Korean woman was confirmed to have been infected with the virus.
South Korea had been considered relatively safe from the highly contagious virus
until last week, with just four confirmed cases reported since last month.
The number, however, has been growing sharply last weekend, when the group of
foreign English teachers were confirmed to be infected, raising concerns the
virus might be spreading faster than expected here.
In a bid to support efforts to stem the spread of the flu, the Seoul government
said earlier it will spend 18.4 billion won (US$14.6 million), mostly to
strengthen quarantine on inbound travelers and detect and treat flu patients.
According to the latest tally by the World Health Organization (WHO), there are
over 12,000 confirmed new flu cases in 46 countries, with 91 deaths being
attributed to the virus. All deaths have occurred in Mexico, the United States,
Canada and Costa Rica.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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