Eight students have been confirmed to contract A/H1N1 flu as the epidemic broke out in a school in western Uganda, bringing the total cases of the epidemic to 24 in the country, an official confirmed here on Sunday.

Sam Okware, chairman of national A/H1N1 flu task force, told Xinhua by phone that eight out of 10 samples from Kitebi Seminary, a secondary school in Bushenyi district, about 350 km from Kampala, were tested positive for the virus.

The Ugandan Health Ministry has sent a team to the school opened for the new term last week, where 180 students had shown symptoms of fever, cough, chest pain, sneezing and running nose, said a statement issued here by the ministry on Sunday.

Okware said the students have been isolated and put on treatment at the school while those they were in contact with at school are also being monitored.

Uganda confirmed its first case of the A/H1N1 flu on July 2, which was a Briton on a visit here.

A/H1N1 flu is highly infectious and is transmitted through the air as a result of sneezing, coughing or touching contaminated materials or surfaces.

The symptoms of the disease include sudden on-set of fever, sore throat, cough and flu. They occur within three to seven days after contact with an infected person.

Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan, warned during her recent visit here last month that more A/H1N1 flu cases could occur on the continent in the near future than currently reported.

At least 3,205 people worldwide have been killed by the A/H1N1 flu and over 277,607 have been infected since the new flu virus was identified in April, according to a WHO update last week.

Source: Xinhua