Three additional influenza A/H1N1cases were diagnosed on Sunday in Israel, bringing the total number in the Jewish state to 22, local news service Ynet reported.

Two women, aged 22 and 30 respectively, were hospitalized in Safed's Ziv Medical Center and in the Laniado Hospital in Netanya, said the report, adding that a 25-year-old man, who refused to be hospitalized, was ordered to stay indoors.

The report did not give details about how the three contracted the virus.

Over the past few days, Israeli health authority diagnosed several A/H1N1 flu cases since the outbreak of the influenza.

According to the World Health Organization, 53 countries had officially reported 15,510 cases of A/H1N1 infection, including 99deaths, as of Friday.

(Xinhua News Agency June 1, 2009)