BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Two more countries in Latin America and Asia -- Honduras and the Philippine -- have reported their first confirmed A/H1N1 influenza cases, bringing the total number of affected countries to 43.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and government data, the epidemic has so far infected more than 11,000 people and claimed 89 lives.
In Latin America, Honduras confirmed its first case of the A/H1N1 influenza on Thursday. The patient was in a nine-year-old girl who lives in the northern town of San Pedro Sula.
Meanwhile, Paraguay disclosed that it had registered seven suspected flu cases. Among them, three people showed flu symptoms after returning from the United States and Mexico, the two worst-hit countries. The other four are all relatives of one of the patients.
Latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that the number of confirmed and probable human A/H1N1 flu cases has risen to 5,764 in 48 states of the country, exceeding Mexico's 4,008.
But there are only nine deaths in the U.S., far fewer than the 78 in Mexico. Canada has 719 cases and one death and Costa Rica has one death.
Mexico City authorities Thursday lowered the epidemiological alert level to green, but urged citizens to continue to implement the public health protection measures.
Other Latin American countries that have reported an increase in confirmed cases include Brazil, Peru and Costa Rica.
In Europe, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said Thursday that 10 new A/H1N1 flu cases were reported in the continent within the last 24 hours, with six in Spain, three in Britain and one in Germany.
The total number of confirmed cases of the A/H1N1 flu virus in the European Union and European Free Trade Association countries rose to 290, with 113 cases in Spain, 109 in Britain, 16 in France and 15 in Germany.
In Spain, six soldiers were hospitalized on Thursday with symptoms of the A/H1N1 flu, and 20 others were placed under quarantine.
In Asia, the Philippine health authorities confirmed the country's first A/H1N1 flu case. The patient is a 10-year-old girl who arrived on May 18 from the U.S. and had also visited Canada.
In Japan, with new cases reported in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, the number of confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu increased to 292 from 266 overnight.
In Australia, two new cases of A/H1N1 flu were diagnosed in Melbourne, bringing the number of confirmed cases to nine in the country.
Also on Thursday, China's Taiwan reported a second case of A/H1N1 influenza. In China's Mainland, the number of confirmed cases rose to five after a new case was reported in the capital Beijing.
In Vietnam, two Vietnamese returning home from affected foreign countries were reported to have flu-like symptoms.
In the Asia-Pacific region as a whole, the confirmed cases of A/H1N1 Influenza on Thursday reached to 330, including 292 in Japan; nine in New Zealand; four in South Korea; two in Thailand; two in Malaysia; nine in Australia; 10 in China (including three cases in Hong Kong, two cases in Taiwan); one in India and one in the Philippines.
The WHO has repeatedly warned that the severity of the disease might increase.
Special Report: World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu ¡¡
