Cases in Italy rise to 102

| Thu, 06/25/2009 - 03:31

Health officials on Wednesday said that six new cases of the H1N1 flu had been confirmed in Italy, bringing the total to 102.

Four of the cases involved people who had recently visited the United States, while one had been in Argentina and the other has returned from Peru.

None of the six were said to be in any danger.

Although the flu, also known as Influenza A or Swine flu, originated in Mexico, it has spread the most in the US, where the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) said there were 21,449 confirmed cases and 87 fatalities.

The WHO report, issued before Italy had confirmed its last six cases, said there were currently 55,867 cases, while the death toll had risen to 238.

Mexico has had the greatest number of fatalities, 115 out of 7,84741 cases. Canada has had 6,457 cases and 15 deaths while Argentina has had seven, Chile and Colombia four, the Dominican Republic and Australia two and Costa Rica, Guatemala, the Philippines and Britain all one. Colombia and the Dominican Republic have each had a fatality.

In Europe, Britain has recorded the highest number of cases (2,905), followed by Spain (539), Germany (301) and France (171).

Earlier this month, WHO upgraded the flu to its highest level, 6, and said it was now classified as a pandemic, although its severity level was moderate.

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