Cairo - Libya remains free from swine flu but more cases have been confirmed across the Middle East, an official at the National Centre for Control and Prevention of Endemic Diseases said Wednesday.

Egyptian health authorities announced that the number of confirmed cases had risen to 29. Health Ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman Shaheen said 12 people had recovered, while 17 others were still being treated in hospital.

In Oman, the Health Ministry confirmed the country's first three cases of swine flu - students studying in the United States who had recently returned home.

Saudi Arabia said its total of swine flu infections climbed to 22, after five new cases were confirmed Wednesday - three nurses from the Philippines and two boys, aged 2 and 9 years, the Health Ministry said.

Jordanian health authorities announced four new swine flu cases, while Yemen identified four confirmed cases in students who had returned from an exchange programme in the US.

The H1N1 virus first emerged in the United States and Mexico in April, and has since spread internationally.(dpa)