BERLIN, GERMANY - Twenty-seven children from a Japanese school in the western German city of Duesseldorf have tested positive for swine flu, local officials said on Thursday.

The first case was discovered on Monday at the school, said a statement from the Dusseldorf municipality, adding that 26 other children from a different class were diagnosed on Wednesday with the virus.

"The Japanese families affected are under quarantine at home," the statement said.

The school has been closed since Tuesday.

Since the A(H1N1) virus was first discovered in the United States and Mexico in April, 74 countries have reported more than 27,000 cases including 141 deaths, according to figures from the World Health Organisation.