S. Korea ups alert level against new flu

SEOUL, July 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's health authorities said Tuesday that they heightened the nation's disease alert status against influenza A to the second-highest level as the contagious virus is showing signs of spreading fast across the country.

"We have decided to raise our national disease alert status by one notch as cases
of community infections are growing in which transmission routes cannot be
verified," the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said in an
e-mailed statement.
"The number of flu cases has been increasing with a steady influx of foreign
students during summer vacation ... and a massive number of infections among
domestic school students," the ministry said. "This raises concerns that the
disease could quickly spread across the nation with high probability that it
could turn into a pandemic in the autumn season."
Under the move, the ministry said it will shift away from its current
"containment and isolation" strategy in curbing the spread of the disease toward
a "damage-minimizing" policy aimed at preventing death and curing patients with
serious symptoms.
The move came after the government had retained the current alert status -- the
third highest -- since late April. Earlier, the nation reported an additional 28
flu cases including 11 elementary school students, raising the total number of
H1N1 virus infections here to 922.
The students are suspected of having contracted the disease through so-called
community transmission, in which people are infected with the virus without
having traveled to affected countries or through contact with other patients.
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 growing as the number of daily infections increases at a fast pace.
No deaths have been reported here.
Fears are also mounting over the increasing number of local cases involving
community transmission.
As of Tuesday, 151 people remain in isolation for treatment with the other
confirmed and suspected cases having been released from hospitals after showing
no further symptoms of the flu. More than half of all confirmed cases have
involved inbound travelers.
The government earlier said it has set aside 174.8 billion won (US$139.3 million)
to secure enough vaccine to inoculate around 27 percent of the nation's
population against the flu virus. The vaccines will be available beginning in
November, ahead of the winter flu season, it added.