GEORGE TOWN: A four-year-old boy has become the 16th case of local transmission of influenza A (H1N1), Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said.

The child, who is undergoing anti-viral treatment at the Penang Hospital, is among the eight latest confirmed cases of the flu in the country.

Liow said the boy, a child of an infected air stewardess, has been under home quarantine since June 24.

"We received the swab sample results back on Friday, which showed that he had contracted the flu," Liow told reporters after launching the Malaysian Dental Association and Federation Dentaire International Scientific Convention and Trade Exhibition at a hotel here yesterday.

He added that the boy had an older sibling who had earlier tested positive for the flu.

"We are looking at the first generation of local transmission and we have things under control."

Two of the eight new confirmed cases involved foreigners. One is an 11-year-old Australian boy who was in transit at the KL International Airport (KLIA) en route from Cambodia to Melbourne.

The other is a 33-year-old Irish woman on holiday in Malaysia who had arrived in KLIA on Flight MH122 (seat 38B) on June 23.

Her husband and five people she had been in contact with are under house quarantine while authorities are working to locate all other passengers who were on the same flight.

The four confirmed cases involving locals had all originated from Australia.

Three, all of whom are students in their early 20s, were either studying or holidaying in Melbourne while a 27-year-old man was working in Sydney and was back on a trip to Penang.

The latest cases bring the number of flu victims in the country to 112, with 96 of them being imported cases.

Liow said SRK Assunta 1, SRK Assunta 2 and Sri Cempaka Inter-national School that were closed following reports of A (H1N1) cases would all re-open tomorrow.

"However, school authorities at SMK Abdul Rahim 2 in Kudat, Sabah, have decided to close the school as 42 teachers, which is almost all the teaching staff, have been put on quarantine until tomorrow.

"A total of 128 people from the school have been quarantined, 76 of them pupils from two classes and the remainder school staff," said Liow.

It was reported yesterday that the Health Ministry has ordered the closure of two classes at the school after a teacher tested positive for the flu.

In Johor, an 11-year-old Indo-nesian girl has been confirmed as the second positive case in the state.

The girl with her father boarded the Sri Wijaya flight to Changi Airport in Singapore to go for a vacation in Johor on June 25.

Johor Health Department director Dr Mohd Khairi Yaakob said the girl first showed symptoms on June 25 and all her family members, including her parents, have been home quarantined.