The World Health Organization Tuesday said the death toll from swine flu had risen to 700 globally, according to dpa. By comparison, seasonal flu, the common variety of influenza which normally hits during the winter months, kills about 500,000 people each year. An official at the WHO headquarters in Geneva said the organization did not have a death ratio for the virus and was still compiling data. The disease was first reported to have broken out in mid-April in North America, which remains the hardest-hit region. The health agency stopped reporting on the number of infections earlier this month, saying the disease was too widespread to count each case. Owing to its global spread, the WHO has deemed the new virus to be a "pandemic." Estimates say over 1.2 million cases exist worldwide, with most people who become ill recovering fully within a few days. Health experts have said that while there have been deaths and some cases of severe illness caused by the new virus, known as A(H1N1), has been mostly mild. Vaccine production is under way at a number of major pharmaceutical companies, with clinical trials to begin in the coming weeks, and doses should reach clinics by the autumn. Anti-viral drugs have shown themselves to be effective against swine flu for those already ill.
