WHO Update

As of Wednesday, 24 June, WHO is reporting 55,867 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza A(H1N1), including 238 associated deaths in 108 countries/territories/areas. Since Monday (WHO is providing reports on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), 9 new countries/territories/areas are reporting laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A(H1N1). The following list includes the number of lab-confirmed cases and associated deaths, by country/territory/area for these 9 countries/territories/areas:

Reporting site (Cases, Deaths)
- Antigua and Barbuda (2, 0)
- Cambodia (1 , 0)
- Cape Verde (3 , 0)
- Cote d’Ivoire (2 , 0)
- Ethiopia (2 , 0)
- Latvia (1 , 0)
- Montenegro (1 , 0)
- Tunisia (2 , 0)
- Vanuatu (1, 1 )

It is difficult to interpret this information, as it may be a sign of enhanced surveillance and/or improved reporting rather than a true indication of increasing distribution and spread of the virus.

While we think it is important to provide a situation update as well as an update on the distribution and spread of reported disease in countries/territories/areas reporting to WHO, we would like to emphasize that certainly not all cases are detected and/or appropriately reported. Therefore, the figures presented in these updates likely are a substantial underestimate of the actual amount of disease and the numbers of affected countries/territories/areas.

Source site: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_06_24/en/index.html