Swine flu outbreak rages through Europe

Cancun, Mexico: Swine flu is running wild in the Southern Hemisphere and is spreading rapidly through Europe and the US, with Britain projected to reach 100,000 daily cases by the end of August. The virus is even showing signs of rebounding in Mexico.

The World Health Organisation said on Friday the number of officially confirmed swine flu cases worldwide has reached 89,921 in about 125 countries.

The global body said 12,720 new cases have been reported since Wednesday - about half of them in the United States. Britain, Chile, Mexico and the Philippines also reported large numbers of new cases.

WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan and health ministers from around the globe huddled in Cancun last week for a two-day summit to design strategies for battling the pandemic. Nations attending include the United States, Canada, China, Britain and Brazil.

"As we see today, with well over 100 countries reporting cases, once a fully fit pandemic virus emerges, its further international spread is unstoppable," Chan.

She also warned that officials are concerned about the virus mutating.

Mexico is starting to see an increase in swine flu cases in isolated areas. To date, it has confirmed a total of 10,687 cases, including 119 deaths.

With the Southern Hemisphere in the midst of its winter flu season, Chan said officials are keeping a close watch on those countries.

In Washington, the White House said it would hold a high-level meeting next week bringing together top government officials to prepare for the possibility of a more severe outbreak of A(H1N1) influenza.

The meeting was called after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that at least one million people in the United States have had swine flu, basing the projection partly on computer models.

Britain, which has officially reported 7,447 swine flu cases, is the hardest-hit nation in Europe. Health minister Andy Burnham said Thursday that Britain will now only give the antiviral to people with the virus after forecasting 100,000 new swine flu cases a day by the end of August.

Australia has the most cases in the Asia-Pacific region, with more than 4,568 confirmed.

H1N1 resistant to Tamiflu

3 cases: Japanese doctors identified a woman who was resistant to Tamiflu. A teenager in Hong Kong too did not respond to the antiviral drug. A similar case was found in Denmark.

Slow spread: The virus has a protein on its surface that is inefficient at binding with receptors in people's respiratory tracts, restricting its ability to spread quickly.

Suit filed: The family of a Moroccan woman who became the first fatality in Europe will sue two Madrid hospitals for failing to recognise the condition.

- Agencies