Global swine flu cases leap past 70,000: WHO

The number of recorded swine flu cases has reached 70,893 worldwide, with 311 deaths, since the virus was first discovered in late March, according to data released by the World Health Organisation on Monday.

The data indicated 11,079 new influenza A(H1N1) infections, including 48 deaths, since the last bulletin on Friday.

The largest increase in case-load was reported by the United States, which added 6,268 cases including 40 deaths, bringing the total number of infections to 27,717 including 127 deaths.

Canada posted a jump of 1,043 new cases, with its total infections now reaching 7,775 including 21 deaths.

Australia showed an increase of 758 new cases including four deaths, bringing its total to 4,038 infections and seven deaths.

US health authorities said Friday that at least one million people in the United States have had swine flu, or around 50 times more than the number of cases officially reported.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) arrived at its figure based on computer models and surveys of communities known to have been hard hit by the new flu strain.

Some affected countries no longer keep track of all cases according to the UN health agency, while others do not report for each of the thrice-weekly bulletins.