The number of suspected cases of the A/H1N1 influenza in Brazil has risen to 14 from Sunday's nine, the Health Ministry announced on Monday.

The suspected cases were registered in the states of Sao Paulo (six), Rio de Janeiro (two), Minas Gerais (two), and one each in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Rio Grande do Norte and the Federal District.

According to the Ministry, the number of confirmed cases of the flu in Brazil remains at nine. Only one of the confirmed cases, from Sao Paulo state, still stay in hospital for treatment. The others have gone through the contagion stage and left hospitals.

Most of the infected caught the A/H1N1 flu in international trips, while two were infected in Brazilian territory, said the Health Ministry, stressing that the domestic transmission was limited to those two cases.

Other 20 people in nine Brazilian states are being monitored by the health authorities. A total of 308 patients have been cleared of the disease.

So far, the A/H1N1 flu has killed 91 people in Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica and the United States. More than 12,500 people in 46 countries and regions have been infected, according to the World Health Organization.

(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2009)