Mexico could have one million swine flu cases: Minister

MEXICO CITY
: Up to one million people in Mexico could be infected with swine flu in the coming months, Mexico's health minister has said,
announcing five new deaths from the A(H1N1) virus.

The new deaths bring Mexico's toll from the swine flu to 184, with 21,264 confirmed cases of infection, health minister Jose Angel Cordova said in a statement on Friday.

But he warned that "we predict the number of infections will rise to one million this winter."

The virus first emerged in Mexico in late April, and quickly developed into a global pandemic that has killed close to 2,200 people in 177 countries, according to the most recent figures released yesterday by the World Health Organization (WHO).

With 209,438 cases of infection globally, according to the WHO's lowest estimate, the virus has overtaken seasonal influenza to become the most prevalent strain of flu worldwide.