S. Korea's new H1N1 flu cases surge to 105

(ATTN: EDITS lead para; ADDS details; AMENDS headline)
SEOUL, June 20 (Yonhap) -- An additional 15 South Koreans were found to have been
infected with the new H1N1 flu on Saturday, bringing the nation's total to 105,
health officials said Saturday.
South Korea had been considered relatively insulated from the highly contagious
virus, originally called "swine flu," but the figure presaged a growing number of
infections as the largest number confirmed infected within one day.
The new patients included a family of two women aged 52 and 47 and a 29-year old
male, who had arrived from the Philippines. Nine other people, including a
27-year-old, a 26-year-old woman and a three-year-old and a eight-year-old child,
were found to be infected on their return from the United States.
"The number of patients is significantly growing as South Korean nationals return
home in the wake of the summer vacation season," said an official at the Ministry
of Health, Welfare and Family.
The official urged people with flu-like symptoms, who recently arrived from the
U.S. and other nations vulnerable to the disease, to report to their regional
health authorities.
Still, the South Korean government has maintained its national alert level for
the new H1N1 flue at "yellow," the second-lowest rating, saying the infection
isn't spreading locally.
On June 11, the World Health Organization on June 11 declared the new H1N1 flu as
the first influenza pandemic since 1968.
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