Ho Chi Minh City Sunday confirmed 12 more H1N1 infections in students at three schools while 45 new cases were confirmed nationwide, raising the country’s tally to 612.

As of late Sunday, Ngo Thoi Nhiem School had reported 83 H1N1 cases including 77 students and six teachers, while Nguyen Khuyen School had nine student cases.

RMIT has reported 8 infections in total.

Many students from the three schools had come home for summer vacations and had brought what was formerly known as H1N1 flu to a total of 10 provinces over the last week.

Four cases were confirmed in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong Sunday, including a student from Nguyen Khuyen School and three children who have had physical contact with another Ngo Thoi Nhiem School student being treated in the province for influenza A.

Meanwhile, one of three patients found in the southwestern province of Tay Ninh Sunday was a student from RMIT.

Lam Dong and Tay Ninh health authorities have announced 11 and eight H1N1 infections respectively.

Among the 45 new cases nationwide, 30 were in the south, nine in the north and six in the central region. Three of the patients had traveled from HCMC to Hanoi on the TN2 train last Friday.

The Ministry of Health has recommended that people having traveled on the same train stay away from others and visit local health centers if they develop flu symptoms.

Since the first case was found in Vietnam, 375 have recovered and been discharged from hospitals while the others are being quarantined, including 332 in HCMC.

Ha Tinh death not related to flu

The Ministry of Health on Sunday also concluded that a patient in the central province of Ha Tinh had not been killed by the H1N1 virus as suspected earlier, Vietnam News Agency said Sunday.

The patient died at the province’s general hospital Sunday, two days after being admitted with flu symptoms.

Vietnam National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology received a blood sample on Saturday and announced Sunday that the patient had tested negative for the flu.

Health officials are investigating the cause of death.

Source: Thanh Nien, VNA