BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- As the A/H1N1 influenza continues to spread around the world, the number of deaths caused by the new virus has risen to 91, health officials say.
World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan of China addresses the 60th World Health Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva May 15, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
There have been 80 deaths in Mexico, nine in the United States, one in Canada and one in Costa Rica, according to governments and the World Health Organization.
The Mexican Health Ministry confirmed Friday that the death toll linked to the flu in Mexico rose from 78 to 80, while the number of confirmed cases stood at 4,174.
Meanwhile, more than 11,168 people in 44 countries and regions, mostly in the United States and Mexico, have reportedly contracted the virus, health officials said.
The WHO said the number of confirmed cases in the United States, which announced plans Friday to provide 1 billion U.S. dollars in funding to develop a vaccine against the virus, stood at 5,764.
Eighty-six new flu cases have been reported in Canada since Wednesday and the total number of confirmed cases has risen to 805,including one death, the Public Health Agency of Canada said Friday.
Elsewhere, Costa Rica's health ministry on Friday reported 25 confirmed flu cases and four suspected new ones.
A new case of flu was confirmed Thursday in Brazil, bringing the total number of confirmed cases there to nine.
Twenty-six new cases were reported in Europe on Friday, said the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Half of the cases were in Spain and the others were in Britain, Italy, Germany and Belgium, the ECDC said in its daily situation report.
The cumulative number of confirmed flu cases in the EU (European Union) and EFTA (European Free Trade Association) countries increased to 316, with 126 cases in Spain, 117 in Britain, 17 in Germany, 16 in France and 14 in Italy, the ECDC said.
Also Friday, Russia's first case of the new flu was recorded in Moscow, the Interfax news agency reported.
A 28-year-old Russian national returning from New York tested positive for the virus, Interfax reported, citing the country's chief public health official.
Meanwhile, a 15-year-old boy from suburban Melbourne on Saturday was the latest person to be diagnosed with the virus in Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Saturday that his government's decision to move to a containment stage to deal with the outbreak will be disruptive but necessary.
"As anything further emerges on this front we will act appropriately and act decisively," he said.
Six more flu cases were confirmed in Asia on Friday, including two on the Chinese mainland, three in China's Taiwan and one in Hong Kong.
On Saturday, South Korean health officials confirmed that an American resident has the virus. The case was the fifth confirmed in South Korea.
Dr. Margaret Chan, the head of the WHO, on Friday again warned governments of the danger and unpredictability of the virus and called on them to adjust their countermeasures according to the changing patterns of the disease.
"This is a very contagious virus. We expect it to continue to spread to new countries and continue to spread within countries already affected," Chan said at the World Health Assembly in Geneva.
She also urged the international community to carefully watch the behavior of the virus as it encounters other flu viruses circulating during the winter season in the southern hemisphere.
GENEVA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday again warned governments of the danger and unpredictability of the A/H1N1 influenza virus, and called on them to adjust their countermeasures according to the changing patterns of the disease.
"This is a very contagious virus. We expect it to continue to spread to new countries and continue to spread within countries already affected," said Dr. Margaret Chan in closing remarks to the 62nd World Health Assembly (WHA). Full story
OTTAWA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The total of confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases in Canada has risen to 805, including one death, according to the latest figures from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) Friday afternoon.
Since Wednesday, 86 new cases have been reported. Quebec reported 37 new cases during the past two days, followed by Saskatchewan with 28, Ontario with 10, Alberta with 8, Nova Scotia with 2 and British Columbia with 1. Full story
NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- New York City has so far closed 40 schools in an attempt to slow the spread of A/H1N1 flu within the school community, according to a press release issued by the city's Health Department on Friday.
The Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein on Friday discussed the rationale behind closing individual New York City schools in response to the presence of the A/H1N1 virus in New York City. Full story
GENEVA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The 62nd World Health Assembly (WHA)closed on Friday with the adoption of resolutions on a variety of global health issues.
Those resolutions cover pandemic influenza preparedness, primary health care, the prevention and control of multi drug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, innovation and intellectual property, health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, etc. Full story
NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Coughing, sneezing and nose running, an increasing number of primary and middle school students in New York City are suffering from flu-like symptoms and missing classes, which made parents concerned and the city officials close schools with high absentee rates.
The A/H1N1 flu, which was first detected in New York City in late April, has so far sickened 240 people with confirmed infection of the flu virus, 56 of whom have been hospitalized. Full story
