Fifth of world down with the flu; over 400 people sickened each day

MANILA, Philippines - A fifth of the world – 41 countries out of 195 – has been stricken with the deadly Influenza A(H1N1) virus that sickened 11,034 people with 85 who died in Mexico, United States, Canada, and Costa Rica, data from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed. The latest total number of cases (11,034) contained in WHO’s Update 35 released on May 21 is a 44,036 percent jump from the 25 cases that the organization first reported on April 24, based on GMANews.TV’s computation. This means that about 408 people contract the disease each day in the last 27 days since the WHO first came out with its report about the outbreak. Also based on GMANews.TV’s computation, the WHO’s May 21 report showed that 95 percent of the cases or 10,454 are in the Americas; 2.6 percent or 286 are in Europe; 2.5 percent or 275 are in Asia and less than 1 percent each are in Oceania with 12 cases and the Middle East with seven cases. No case has so far been reported in Africa, based on the WHO’s latest report. 99 percent in 10 countries Ninety-nine percent or 10,919 cases are found in 10 countries – five in the Americas; four in Europe and one in Asia. The countries are:

• USA – 5,710
• Mexico – 3,892
• Canada – 719
• Japan – 259
• Spain – 111
• UK – 109
• Panama – 69
• Costa Rica – 20
• France – 16
• Germany – 14

Most cases in US In the Americas, the US remains the country with the highest number of infections with 5,710 cases followed by Mexico with 3,892; Canada – 719; Panama – 69; Costa Rica – 20; Colombia – 12; Brazil – 8; El Salvador – 6; Chile – 5; Cuba – 4; Guatemala – 4; Peru – 3; Ecuador -1 and Argentina – 1. In Europe, Spain has recorded the most number of infections with 111 cases followed by the United Kingdom with 109; France – 16; Germany – 14; Italy – 10; Belgium – 5; The Netherlands – 3; Norway – 3; Sweden – 3; Finland – 2; Poland – 2; Turkey – 2; Austria – 1; Denmark – 1; Greece – 1; Ireland – 1; Portugal – 1; and Switzerland – 1. In Asia, Japan has the most number of cases with 259; followed by China with 8; South Korea with 3; Malaysia and Thailand with 2 each and India with 1. The WHO report did not yet include one confirmed case in the Philippines involving a 10-year-old girl who arrived in the country last May 18 after traveling in Canada and the US. In Oceania, New Zealand has nine cases, while Australia has three. Israel, with seven cases, remains the lone country in the Middle East that was stricken with the disease. - ARCS, GMANews.TV