The A/H1N1 flu virus spreading across the globe may probably be no more dangerous than common flu viruses, US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said on Monday.

"What the epidemiologists are seeing now with this particular strain...is that the severity of the disease, the severity of the flu -- how sick you get -- is not stronger than regular seasonal flu," she said at a press briefing at the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

Napolitano said that US officials are now "cautiously optimistic that this particular strain will not be more severe than a normal seasonal flu outbreak."

The official pointed out that seasonal flu puts hundreds of thousands of people in the hospital, and typically kills 35,000 people a year in the United States.

Asked about assertions by Mexican officials that the A/H1N1 outbreak may have peaked in Mexico, Napolitano said, "I have no reason to think that is inaccurate."

Latest report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there are now 286 confirmed cases in 36 states -- 60 more from last Sunday.

Worldwide, the number of confirmed cases of the A/H1N1 flu has topped 1,085.

The virus has been responsible for 25 deaths in Mexico and one in the United States so far.

The US authorities said the possibility remains that the A/H1N1 virus could stage a comeback in the fall in a stronger form.