NUMBER OF SWINE FLU CASES KEEPS RISING

Jakarta, July 25 (ANTARA) - Twenty-one more people were reported to have been infected with H1N1 virus on Friday raising the national number of infection cases so far to 343 consisting of 193 men and 150 women.

The health ministry said in its press statement received here on Friday the new cases were found in Jakarta, West Java, Banten, Riau Islands, Bali, Yogyakarta, North Sumatra, East Java, East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.

The patients including some foreigners mostly had a history of travelling to infected countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.

The director general of desease control and environment health of the ministry of health, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said the government continued controlling the spread of the disease.

Efforts include intensifying monitoring through port health services, preparing reference hospitals and medicine, intensifying surveilance against influenza-typed diseases and preparing laboratories and increasing campaign in disease prevention.

He said the government had also encouraged people to get involved in communtity-based surveilance activities and asked them to immedietely report to healthcare centers in case they had a flu.

"Clinical surveilance is also increased at community healthcare centers and hospitals to find serious cases," he said.

He said the virus spread directly from human to human through coughing or sneezing so that its pace was quick.

He said the disease however had a low death rate across the world namely only around 0.4 percent.

Tjandra appealed to the people to remain alert over the disease which has been declared pandemic.