Brazil's health ministry reported on Friday 19 new confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu, bringing the country's total number of infections to 756.

Seven of the newly confirmed cases were reported in the state of Sao Paulo and six cases were reported in Minas Gerais. Two cases were reported each in Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul, and one case was reported each in Parana and Mato Grosso do Sul, the ministry said.

There were also 1,414 suspected cases of A/H1N1 flu in Brazil, said the ministry.

The number of A/H1N1 flu cases in Brazil has increased sharply in the past two weeks, with most of the new cases reported in southern Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul.

According to the ministry, most of the flu patients in Brazil were infected during international trips.

The World Health Organization said on Friday the number of confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu in the world has reached 89,921. A total of 382 people have died of the disease.

(Xinhua News Agency July 4, 2009)