Jump in number of global H1N1 deaths

The World Health Organization is reporting that the global number of deaths from the H1N1 virus has jumped by more than 1,000 in a week.



Latest WHO figures show that at least 7,826 people are now known to have died following infection with the H1N1 virus since it first emerged in Mexico in April.



Europe reportedly saw an 85 per cent increase in the week, with the total number of deaths rising from 350 to at least 650.



Meanwhile, the biggest rise in deaths was recorded in the Americas, where the death toll rose to 5,360 - a rise of 554 cases in one week.



Health authorities in Norway and France have each recorded two fatalities from a mutated strain of H1N1.



China, Japan, Norway, Ukraine and the US have also recorded cases of people being infected with a mutated strain.