Cairo  - Egypt's Health Ministry on Sunday announced five new confirmed cases of the new H1N1, or swine flu, virus in the North African country, and two additional suspected cases.

The five cases bring the total number of Egyptian cases of the virus to 39, Abdel-Rahman Shahin said.

Among the five cases were three Egyptian children who returned to Cairo with their families two days ago: a 6-year-old Egyptian girl arriving from the United States, a
9-year-old Egyptian-Canadian boy, and his 7-year-old sister.

All the cases were hospitalized for treatment, Shahin told Egypt's official Middle East News Agency.

Health Ministry officials said they were also investigating two possible infections: a 71-year-old German tourist who fell ill at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, and a 41-year-old Egyptian engineer from the southern Egyptian city of Assiut who had recently returned from completing the Omra, or "minor," pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. (dpa)