South Korean active duty soldiers will be vaccinated against A/H1N1 flu starting Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday in a press briefing.

A total of 733,000 soldiers, recruits and military personnel will get flu vaccine, as a possible outbreak of A/H1N1 flu can spread quickly among soldiers, according to the ministry.

Military medical personnel who were already vaccinated in November last year and soldiers deployed overseas, about 17,000 in total, are excluded from the vaccination, the ministry said.

The number of patients infected with the flu in the military has declined since December last year to about ten people per week, local media reported.

A total of 2,106 confirmed cases have been reported in the military, with seven patients still recovering, according to local media.

(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2010)