30 countries confirm A/H1N1 casesMay 12, 2009 - 00:22 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The World Health Organization (WHO) Monday said that 4,694 cases of the new influenza A/H1N1 infection, including 53 deaths, were confirmed in 30 countries.Mexico had 48 deaths from 1,626 laboratory-confirmed human cases of infection. The US had 2,532 infections, including three deaths and Canada reported 284 cases, with one death. Costa Rica was hit with eight instances of the virus, including one death. In Europe, Spain was most affected, with 95 cases of what is also known as swine flu, and Britain had 47 infections, the health agency said on its Website. Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's head of health security, could not say how the virus would act in Europe. "It is hard to know what will happen in Europe," he said, adding that so far nearly all cases in the continent were travel related, meaning people brought the virus back with them from trips abroad. Similarly, he said the organization was still trying to understand the overall nature of the new virus. Pinning down the severity of the disease was also difficult as there was no quantitative scientific definition of the term. "Severity is not a simple issue," he said, adding later, "there is no epidemiological definition of severity." The WHO was trying to strike a balance between the level of concern caused to populations and the need to stay alert, Fukuda said about the warning system in use. Currently, the agency has its influenza alert status at phase 5, just one below the highest possible, though this only tracks the geographic spread and not other aspects of the disease. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Government reveals details from Pashinyan’s meeting in border village Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with a group of residents of a border village in Armenia’s northern Tavush province Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. |