Indonesia confirms six more swine flu cases, bring total to eight

Jun 28, 2009, 11:13 GMT

Jakarta - Indonesia on Sunday announced six new confirmed cases of swine flu after they were tested positive, bringing the country's total of the H1N1 virus to eight.

Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari identified the six new confirmed cases as three other Australians and three Indonesians - two females and a male - who were returned back to the country from Australia and Singapore recently.

'There were six new confirmed cases (of the swine flu). Three Australians and three Indonesians. But all of them were imported cases because all of them were infected from outside,' Supari said.

Supari recently expressed worries that Australians who flock to Bali would spread the virus in Indonesia, a country that had so far avoided the worst of the pandemic. She said Indonesia was 'taking specific action' at Bali's international airport at Denpasar, one of Indonesia's main entry points for foreign tourists, especially Australians, to monitor passengers for H1N1.

Indonesian authorities increased the use of body temperature scanners at airports and banned imports of live pigs and pork products.

The World Health Organization has declared swine flu a pandemic. As of Friday, it said 59,814 cases had been reported worldwide with 263 deaths, mostly in Mexico and the United States.