SEOUL - SOUTH Korea on Tuesday confirmed five more cases of swine flu, bringing the total to 27 following a sharp weekend rise in reported infections.

The new cases of A (H1N1) influenza infection were found in a 28-year-old Korean woman who arrived from New York on Sunday and in four foreigners, a health ministry spokesman said.

'They have been quarantined and moved to a state hospital,' he told AFP.

The foreigners, an Australian woman and three US men, were all English teachers, he said.

Over the weekend health authorities confirmed infections in three children who arrived from New York, and in nine foreigners who had trained together to work as English teachers.

The worldwide death toll for swine flu neared 100 on Monday with new deaths in North America, while a number of new cases emerged in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

According to the latest tally from the World Health Organization, 12,515 people have been infected with A (H1N1) across 46 countries, 91 of whom have died.

Reports from local authorities would bring the global toll to 97. -- AFP