LEAD) Pregnant woman infected with new flu strain: gov't

(ATTN: RECASTS title, lead; UPDATES with more details throughout)
By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- A pregnant South Korean woman has been infected with
the new type-A influenza that has spread to 53 countries, government health
authorities said Monday.

The 32-year-old woman is three months pregnant and the mother of an 18-month-old
child who was confirmed on Sunday to have contracted the flu, the Ministry for
Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said.
A Korean woman in her 50s has been also identified as having contracted the
type-A H1N1 virus, bringing the total number of cases detected in the country to
41 since April.
Both new cases involved people who have recently arrived from the United States,
officials said.
It said the latest confirmation marks the first time in South Korea that a
pregnant woman has come down with the flu that has killed 99 out of 15,510 people
infected around the world.
No deaths have been reported in the country, with many people having been
released from quarantine after showing no side effects.
"The pregnant woman did not initially show signs of having contracted the type-A
H1N1 virus, but had been quarantined because she wanted to stay with her child,"
an official said.
He noted that while the woman did not take antiviral medication because of her
pregnancy, the World Health Organization (WHO) claims drugs like Tamiflu pose
minimal risk to an unborn child, and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and
Prevention does not recommend special treatment for pregnant women.
The health ministry, meanwhile, recommends that South Koreans living abroad delay
their return to Korea until they make sure they are not sick.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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