The Ecuadorian Public Health Ministry said on Sunday that there were seven new confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu in the western city of Guayaquil, bringing the total number of people infected with the virus in Ecuador to 17.

Of the seven new patients, three are students of a local middle school.

All but one of the 17 confirmed cases are from Guayaquil, and most of them are students. A 22-year-old American woman was confirmed to be infected with the new virus in the capital city of Quito.