Five more A/H1N1 flu cases have been confirmed in Nicaragua, raising the total number of infected cases in the country to 26, the Health Ministry announced on Sunday.

Among the newly detected cases, two were from the capital city of Managua and one from the nearby city of Masaya.

The health authorities are focusing their efforts on school-age children as most of those infected are children aged about 10, Health Minister Guillermo Gonzalez said.

Two schools had been ordered to close after students there showed flu-like symptoms, Gonzalez added.

The Nicaraguan government will continue to apply sanitary measures along its borders and at international airports to prevent the spread of the virus, the minister said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2009)