S. Korea confirms 51 new flu cases

SEOUL, July 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's health authorities said Saturday they
have confirmed an additional 51 cases of type-A influenza, including soldiers and
company workers, raising concerns over the quick spread of the disease.

The patients, including eight soldiers and three new employees of a company,
tested positive for the H1N1 virus, according to the Ministry for Health, Welfare
and Family Affairs. The total number of new flu infections in South Korea has
reached 1,166, but no deaths have been reported here.
On Wednesday, the number of confirmed type-A influenza cases in Korea exceeded
1,000, with infections spreading among local communities.
South Korea has been relatively insulated from the global pandemic, which has
claimed hundreds of lives since the disease was first identified in April.
But concerns are mounting over the rising number of infections involving
community transmission, in which people develop symptoms without traveling to
affected countries or contact with other patients.
According to authorities, 27.1 percent of patients had contracted the disease
through community transmission as of Saturday, up from 26.4 percent the previous
day.
On Tuesday, the ministry upgraded its disease alert level by one notch to the
second-highest, calling for cities and provinces to run emergency disease control
systems around the clock.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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