S. Korea's military on alert against swine flu

(ATTN: RECASTS lead, headline; UPDATES with test result; ADDS military stockpile of
Tamiflu in last para, background; TRIMS)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, April 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military heightened its alert against
swine flu on Tuesday as health officials said a civilian has tested positive in
what could be the first case in the country since the virus began spreading
around the world.
South Korea maintains 655,000 soldiers, one of the largest forces in the region.
Quarantine officials said a 51-year-old woman who recently returned from Mexico
"probably" contracted the same virus believed to have killed 150 people in the
Latin American country.
"Military authorities have ordered that any soldier suspected of having flu
symptoms be reported to them immediately," Won Tae-jae, spokesman for the
Ministry of National Defense, said.
"The ministry has also ordered officers to refrain from traveling" to countries
where the Type A influenza virus has broken out, he said, adding no cases of
contraction by a soldier have been reported yet.
The United States, Canada and some European countries have also reported human
cases of the influenza, which breaks out among pigs and is transmittable to
humans.
The South Korean military said in a statement it has enough Tamiflu stockpiled to
treat 25,000 patients. The government plans to double the amount of its
influenza-combating drugs to be able to treat 5 million people, around 10 percent
of its population.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)