BANGKOK - THE number of confirmed cases of swine flu in Thailand nearly tripled to 46 on Thursday, with most of the new infections detected among workers at a nightclub in the popular seaside resort of Pattaya.

The health ministry reported a total of 30 new cases of A(H1N1) across the kingdom, including a young British traveller, and said more were expected, but urged the public to remain calm.

'Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai has announced 30 new confirmed cases of swine flu,' the ministry said in a statement. 'The virus has spread to many areas but people should not panic and should look after their health,' it said.

Health officials said 21 of the new infections were found among nightclub workers in the coastal city of Pattaya, who were tested after two Taiwanese tourists claimed on returning home to have contracted the disease there.

Four other cases were found at the privately-run St Gabriel's college in Bangkok. The school has since announced it will close for one week. The remaining five infected people are being kept in quarantine, the statement said.

A Hong Kong visitor has also claimed to have contracted the virus on the southern resort island of Phuket, and Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva has sent Witthaya there to investigate, he told reporters.

'There are new confirmed cases both in Pattaya and Phuket. The public health authority is checking it now,' he said. 'But none of these confirmed cases is in a serious condition,' he said.

The ministry statement said one of the new cases was a 20-year-old British national who had travelled via Thailand to Cambodia on Tuesday. Two infected Thais had no record of ever travelling overseas, it said.

Since the A(H1N1) virus was first discovered in the United States and Mexico in April, 74 countries have reported more than 27,000 cases, including 141 deaths, according to figures from the World Health Organization. -- AFP