WHO confirms 148 swine flu cases in nine countries

GENEVA -- A total of 148 laboratory-confirmed human cases of swine flu A/H1N1 infection have been officially reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) as of 19:00 GMT Wednesday, the UN agency said. Those cases were reported from nine countries, including 91 from the United States, with one death, and 26 from Mexico, with seven deaths, the agency said in a latest update.

The other seven countries that have reported laboratory-confirmed cases with no deaths include Austria (1), Canada (13), Germany (3), Israel (2), New Zealand (3), Spain (4) and Britain (5), the agency said.As the swine flu situation continues to get worse, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday raised the pandemic alert level to Phase 5, indicating that a full pandemic is imminent.

"I have decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from Phase 4 to Phase 5," announced WHO Director-General Margaret Chan at a teleconference for the media late Wednesday, following close consultations with international experts.The number of confirmed human swine flu cases in the U.S. has risen to 91, including five that need hospitalization, with a Mexican toddler becoming the first fatality from the deadly disease in the country, Richard Besser, acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday.

According to data posted on the CDC's website, the U.S. states with confirmed cases are: Arizona, California, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York city, Ohio and Texas.