Swine flu outbreak closes Japanese school in Germany

The Japanese school in Dusseldorf has been closed following an outbreak of swine flu which has infected at least 30 pupils, officials in the west German city said Thursday.

Nearly all the cases involved children aged 12, said Heiko Schneitler, head of the Dusseldorf Health Office. Most of the cases were not severe, but one child required hospital treatment, he said.

All the affected students have been placed in quarantine at home with their families, Schneitler said, adding the number of infections was expected to rise because other children had complained of flu symptoms.

Some 30 teachers and 560 students are at the school, which will remain closed until the end of next week, school officials said.

The outbreak raised to more than 100 the number of swine flu cases in Germany, Europe's most populous nation.

Swine flu outbreak closes Japanese school in Germany