The Department of Health (DOH) said on Thursday it is monitoring seven new suspected cases of the influenza-A (H1N1) virus.

The patients, three Filipinos and four foreigners, between 3 and 47 years old, are being tested at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM)  in Manila through H1N1 test kits provided by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO sent 300 testing kits to the Philippines, which considerably cut down the waiting time before a patient is cleared or confirmed to be infected.

The RITM said they used to determine whether a patient has H1N1 through a process of elimination, but with the test kits, they can now confirm swine influenza lineage.

The DOH earlier cleared a four-year-old girl from Naga, Camarines Sur of the H1N1 virus.

The H1N1 virus has infected 5,728 people worldwide. Thirty-three countries have confirmed infections led by Mexico with 2,059, including 56 deaths; the United States with 3,009, including three deaths.

Canada and Costa Rica have reported one death each from H1N1, which has also spread to parts of Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

Three more countries have been infected with the virus Finland, Thailand and Cuba.-- report from ANC