The global number of swine flu deaths has jumped by more than 1,000 in a week, latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) show. At least 7,826 people are now known to have died following infection with the H1N1 virus since it first emerged in Mexico in April.
Europe saw an 85% increase in the week, with the total number of deaths rising from at least 350 to at least 650. However, in most cases the virus continues to produce mild symptoms. The overwhelming majority of patients usually recover, even without medical treatment, within a week.
The biggest rise in deaths was recorded in the Americas, where the death toll rose to 5,360 - a rise of 554 cases in one week. Health authorities in Norway and France have each recorded two fatalities from a mutated strain of H1N1.
China, Japan, Norway, Ukraine and the US have also recorded cases of people being infected with a mutated strain.
Keiji Fukuda, WHO's special adviser on pandemic influenza, said: "The question is whether these mutations suggest that there is a fundamental change going on in viruses out there - whether there's a turn for the worse in terms of severity. "The answer right now is that we are not sure."
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