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Brazil confirms 55 new A(H1N1) flu cases

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-01 09:42

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil's Health Ministry Tuesday confirmed 55 new cases of A(H1N1) flu in the country, raising the total number of the cases to 680.

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Forty-five of the newly confirmed cases were reported in the country's southern border state of Rio Grande do Sul. Three cases were reported each in the states of Piaui and Santa Catarina and one case was reported each in the states of Alagoas, Parana and Sergipe as well as the Federal District, the ministry said.

The state of Rio Grande do Sul has recently registered a sharp increase in the number of A(H1N1) flu cases. It also reported the first death of the flu in the country last Sunday.

According to the Health Ministry, most of A(H1N1) flu patients in Brazil were infected during international trips. Some 235 patients caught the flu in Argentina, 81 got infected in the United States and 33 in Chile.

Although about a quarter of the total cases have been transmitted through domestic channel, the Health Ministry assured that the A(H1N1) flu virus is not circulating in the country.