The A/H1N1 influenza has caused a total of 1,462 deaths worldwide since it was first detected in April, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

In a latest update of the flu situation, the UN agency said a total of 177,457 confirmed infections have been officially reported from over 170 countries and regions.

But those figures are obviously lower than the real number of A/H1N1 cases, as many countries with sustainable community-level transmissions were no longer required to test and report new cases, the agency said.

According to a WHO spokeswoman, the A/H1N1 influenza, which was declared as a pandemic in June, "appears to have peaked and is now in decline" in some countries in the southern hemisphere, including Argentina, Chile, Australia and New Zealand.

But the spread of the virus is still being seen in many of the tropical countries and in Asia, particularly in India, Thailand and Vietnam.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2009)