Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has confirmed that there is now a "low level community outbreak" of the Influenza A/H1N1 virus in the capital Metro Manila, local media reported on Wednesday.

Duque said the health authorities have recorded at least 161 cases in the capital region, nearly all in Quezon City, Manila city and Paranaque city.

He said the outbreak was declared as a number of schools have reported A/H1N1 flu cases on campus.

However, he said "it is still a very limited number" and most schools affected by the flu were closed to prevent a large-scale outbreak.

"There is no huge clustering of cases in any community in the metropolis," the Philippine Star quoted Duque as saying.

By Tuesday, of the 473 A/H1N1 flu cases confirmed by the Philippine health authorities, a total of 400 or 85 percent have already fully recovered, Duque said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 24, 2009)