Some countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific region are worried about local transmission of flu A/H1N1 as more cases not linked to international travel have been reported.

On Saturday, the Philippines confirmed 19 more cases of flu A/H1N1 infection, Thailand reported 17 new cases, New Zealand recorded another nine, China's Hong Kong had 11 more cases, and Malaysia and India saw one addition respectively.

So far, a total of 2,575 cumulative cases have been reported in the region but no death has been reported.

New Zealand has recorded 43 confirmed cases with nine more on Saturday, including two cases not linked to international travel or contact with international travelers.

The country's health ministry warned that this may signal the beginning of much wider spread throughout the country.

Health Minister Tony Ryall said the situation was changing rapidly and the health sector's response would be altered as the situation evolved.

"At this time the Ministry of Health and public health services are continuing to focus on containing the spread of the virus. This includes activities at the borders to identify, isolate and treat any suspected cases," he said.

Deputy director of public health Darren Hunt said progress on plans for enhanced surveillance through GP clinics continued.

Hunt said when that happened local health authorities would focus messages on the general public, not just recently-returned travelers.

China's Hong Kong has recorded 84 cumulative cases of flu A/H1N1 after 11 people were tested positive for the new flu virus on Saturday, according to the Center for Health Protection.

One of the cases involved a 13-year-old girl studying in St. Paul Convent School, where the first indigenous outbreak involving11 students was reported days earlier.

Another three cases involved a family of three. The father, 39, returned from Thailand to Hong Kong on June 10. All the other seven patients, aged between 15 and 36, had records of staying outside Hong Kong recently.

Information from the WTO showed it was nearly impossible to stop the spread of the virus in the local community, said Thomas Tsang, controller of the Center for Health Protection of Hong Kong.

He said local authorities had a stockpile enough to cover an outbreak that may involve up to 15 percent of the local population and was planning to add more.

To handle more patients with flu-like symptoms, the Hong Kong government designated eight flu clinics of the Hospital Authority (HA), which started operation on Saturday.

The clinics received 236 visitors with flu-like symptoms on the first day, according to a HA spokesman, who said the number of clinics would be expanded to 18 when necessary.

The Philippine health authorities said the confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases have hit 111 as of Saturday.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a press release that all the 19 latest cases were all mild in nature and 38 patients have been discharged from hospital.

Duque said the government has shifted its strategy toward the pandemic flu from containment to mitigation, which means the government will pay more attention in providing medical care than simply preventing the spread by enforcing border-control rules.

In Thailand, a total of 17 kids in a kindergarten near Bangkok tested positive for the new flu, which brought the country's tally to 106.

Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai said, "All of them are now being placed in special wards to prevent the virus from spreading."