GENEVA, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 14,142 people worldwide have been killed by the A/H1N1 pandemic influenza since the new flu virus emerged in April, 2009, the World Health Organization ( WHO) said in a weekly update on Friday.
Of all the deaths, 7,094 occurred in the Americas, 3,099 were reported from Europe. The other four WHO regions, namely Western Pacific, South-East Asia, East Mediterranean and Africa, reported 1,511, 1,366, 941 and 131 deaths respectively.
The WHO's tally of global pandemic deaths is an under representation of the actual numbers as many deaths are never tested or recognized as influenza related, the UN agency noted.
The WHO declared the A/H1N1 influenza as a pandemic in June, 2009. So far the flu virus has caused infections in more than 209 countries and overseas territories or communities.
According to the update, the most intense transmission of the H1N1 virus continues to occur in North Africa, South Asia, and in limited areas of Eastern Europe.
But overall pandemic influenza activity in the temperate northern hemisphere peaked between late October and late November 2009 and has continued to decline since.
In temperate regions of the southern hemisphere, sporadic cases of pandemic influenza continued to be reported without evidence of sustained community transmission.
