Britain's Department of Health confirmed on Tuesday nine new cases of A/H1N1 flu infections, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 675.

A Department of Health statement said all the nine newly-confirmed cases were from England. The new total also included 43 cases in Scotland, and two in Northern Ireland, announced on Monday by the respective local governments.

Testing of the A/H1N1 flu virus is now carried out by the Health Protection Agency's regional network of laboratories.

To date, 435 cases have been confirmed in England, 232 from Scotland, six from Northern Ireland and two from Wales.

"The localized cases of swine flu found in the UK have, in the majority of cases, not been severe and we have not seen evidence of widespread community transmission," said the Health Department statement.

"We are continuing to work to slow the spread of the disease and to put in place arrangements to ensure that the UK is well-placed to deal with this new infection," added the statement.

The Health Department pledged to be prepared for the possibility of a global pandemic.

Meanwhile, according to the Health Protection Agency, 504 cases are currently under laboratory investigation in Britain.

(Xinhua News Agency June 10, 2009)