UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that the A/H1N1 consequence "has been relatively mild" so far and "we have learnt valuable lessons."

The secretary-general told his monthly press conference here that "whatever trajectory the current outbreak may take -- and so far we have been fortunate that its (H1N1 flu) consequence has been relatively mild -- we have learnt valuable lessons."

"As you know, this outbreak is yet another reminder that we live in an inter-connected world. A threat to one country is a threat to all, requiring a collective global response," he said.

A flu outbreak that first cropped up in Mexico has infected more than 1,200 people in 21 countries over the past week. To date, 27 deaths have been officially confirmed -- 26 in Mexico and one in the United States -- though more than 100 are suspected to have died from the flu, reports said.

In Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) decided not to raise the alert level and did not recommend travel restrictions.

"That said, there is still much that is not known about this new strain and the dangers it poses," he said. "We must therefore be prepared."

"Our watchword in potential health crises, now and in the future, must be solidarity -- a global solidarity," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2009)