S. Korea's confirmed cases of influenza A surpass 2,000

SEOUL, Aug. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean health authorities said Saturday they
have confirmed an additional 62 cases of type-A influenza, bringing the total
number of infections in the country to over the 2,000 mark.

The patients, including eight elementary and middle school students and five
soldiers, 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 2,032, but no flu-related deaths have been reported here.
As of Saturday, 402 people remained in isolation at their homes or
state-designated hospitals.
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 transmissions, in which people develop symptoms without traveling to
affected countries or having contact with other patients.
In late July, 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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