Philippine health authorities confirmed on Sunday 36 more patients infected with the A/H1N1 flu virus, bringing the total cases to 147 in the country.

The National Epidemiology Center, an attached agency of the Philippine Department of Health, said that three of the 36 new cases were foreigners.

On the same day, the health authorities declared a community-level outbreak of the A/H1N1 influenza virus at a farming village in Nueva Ecija province, about 170 km northeast of Manila. Ninety-two contacts of 11 children tested positive for the virus there have exhibited symptoms of the illness, said Eric Tayag, head of the National Epidemiology Center.

The authorities expect more cases to be confirmed in the comingdays.

(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2009)