With more and more new lab-confirmed cases of the A/H1N1 flu found in the Asia-Pacific region, the flu situation in Australia is worse with over 300 confirmed cases in the country on Thursday.

Australian health authorities have confirmed that more than 300 people have been diagnosed with the flu and all states and territories are now affected by the virus.

The number of cases diagnosed in Victoria has now risen to 212,Queensland has reported 20 cases, New South Wales 57, South Australia 7, the ACT 4 and Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory have one case each.

Queensland Health Minister Paul Lucas told the parliament Tuesday it's inevitable there will be deaths in Australia from the flu.

Lucas said that the A/H1N1 flu situation is escalating in Australia and the ultimate spread of it in greater numbers can hardly be stopped.

"Inevitably you expect to see deaths in Australia from swine flu," Lucas said.

What the Health is doing is slowing it and seeking to contain it and will continue to take every appropriate action to fight against it, said he.

He said around 1,000 to 3,000 Australians died each year from influenza.

The tally of confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases on the Chinese mainland has risen to 43 on Tuesday as four more people were confirmed infected with the virus while in Hongkong, Another three people were tested positive for the A/H1N1 virus on Tuesday, taking the number of confirmed cases in the city to 26, according to information from local health authorities.

In Thailand, Thai Public Health Ministry announced Tuesday that another Thai is confirmed to be infected by the A/H1N1 influenza virus, the fifth case in the country.

India has confirmed two more new cases. A 34-year-old woman and her five-year-old son from Tamil Nadu, southern India, who returned from the United States on May 28, have been confirmed to be infected with the A H1N1 influenza virus, said Indian health officials Tuesday.

In New Zealand, a child on a recent flight from North America has Influenza A/H1N1, bringing the number of confirmed cases in New Zealand to 10, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

Singapore confirmed its 8th case of Influenza A/H1N1 on Tuesday. According to the country's Health Ministry, the patient is a 15-year-old Singaporean boy who is studying in India. He travelled from India to Orlando and Atlanta on a school trip from May 17 to 31. He returned to Singapore from Atlanta via Mumbai on Singapore Airlines SQ421 on June 1.

(Xinhua News Agency June 3, 2009)