The A/H1N1 pandemic has killed at least 2,837 people worldwide since the new flu virus first emerged in April, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday.

Of all the deaths, 2,234 occurred in the Americas, followed by the West Pacific region, with 279 deaths. The other four WHO regional offices, South-East Asia, Europe, East Mediterranean and Africa reported 188, 104, 21 and 11 deaths respectively.

The WHO's recorded number of lab confirmed A/H1N1 cases worldwide is more than 254,206, but it actually understates the real number of cases as countries are no longer required to test and report individual cases, the UN agency said.

The A/H1N1 virus continues to be the predominant circulating virus of influenza, both in the northern and southern hemisphere, but there are still no signs that the virus has mutated into a more virulent or lethal form, the agency said.

Although the virus can cause severe and fatal illness, also in young and healthy people, the number of such cases remains small, the WHO has said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2009)