Swine Flu Cases Still Rising
 

Reported June 06, 2009

Philippine officials have postponed the start of college classes on concerns over the rising number of swine flu cases in the country, as several nations reported more incidences of the H1N1 virus.

In Australia, the number of confirmed swine flu cases rose to 1,009 Saturday, more than triple the number just one week ago, the country's health department said.

Malaysia confirmed two more cases of swine flu on Saturday, including a 15-year-old Australian tourist, bringing the country's total to seven, while India's Health Ministry confirmed a fifth case of swine flu in a 28-year-old man who traveled from the United States through London. Three American women and a Vietnamese man have also tested positive for swine flu in southern Vietnam, taking the country's total to nine cases, a health official said Saturday.

The Philippines Department of Health has now reported 33 swine flu cases, and all have shown mild symptoms. The country has the most number of swine flu cases in Southeast Asia according to the World Health Organization.

The postponement of classes until June 15 will give foreign students who come from countries with swine flu cases time to self-quarantine, Emmanuel Angeles, chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, which oversees colleges and universities, told DZBB radio.

The move followed the discovery that three students – including two Japanese – were infected with the virus at Manila's De La Salle University.

The disease has spread to 69 countries. A vast majority of the nearly 22,000 cases reported so far have been mild, though 126 people have died as a result of the disease, mostly in Mexico.

The vast majority of Australia's cases – 874 – are in the southern state of Victoria, prompting several other Australian states and territories to quarantine schoolchildren returning home from Victoria for seven days.

Singapore's government posted a warning on its Web site advising people against nonessential travel to Victoria, along with the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile and parts of Japan.

But Health Minister Nicola Roxon on Friday said health officials were not surprised by the rapid spread of the virus, and said it was likely to continue spreading throughout the southern hemisphere's winter months.

"This recent surge in cases was not unexpected, given the behavior of the disease that we've seen in other countries," she said.

Australia's defense department canceled its annual parade celebrating the Queen's birthday near the capital of Canberra on Saturday, after one of the cadets who was supposed to have marched in the parade tested positive for the virus. The cadet and others he came in contact with were placed in isolation.