The Colombian government confirmed on Thursday that four people were tested positive for the influenza A/H1N1, taking the number of confirmed cases of the disease in this nation to 24.

The Social Protection Ministry said that the four patients come from three cities of Cali, Medellin and Cartagena.

Two patients from Cali, an adult man and a woman who had been to New York together, and both developed symptoms after return, according to the report of the government.

Another patient, a woman from Cartagena, had been to New York and made contact with persons with respiratory symptoms there. Shedeveloped pain of throat, cough, headache and muscles pains on May18 after coming back.

The fourth case is a woman from Medellin, who had been to Panama for a working travel, developed symptoms last month after coming home.

The four patients are under treatments in hospitals and in good situation at present, the report said.

According to the Ministry of Social Protection, 1,034 people in Colombia, have attended hospital with flu symptoms, and 24 of them were confirmed being infected with H1N1 flu virus, 134 were suspicious, one was highly probable and 875 were ruled out.

(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2009)