Turkey has denied media reports that a patient who died in hospital was a victim of swine flu.

Broadcaster CNN Turk had earlier said a suspected victim of the virus had died at a hospital in the southern Turkish province of Antalya, UK Sky News reported.

The report came as the World Health Organisation urged countries not to lower their responses to the outbreak.

Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova revealed a graph indicating infections in Mexico, the epicentre of the H1N1 flu outbreak, had fallen sharply from a peak on April 24. Laboratory tests have shown 590 cases of the virus so far in Mexico, out of which 22 people were confirmed to have died.

The WHO said its laboratories had identified a total of 898 H1N1 flu infections in 18 countries, including one case in Italy. They urged governments around the world not to lower their guard and to cooperate to prevent the flu spreading.

In the US, the flu has spread to 30 states and infected 226 people, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said. It seems to be hitting mostly younger people, with very few cases in those over 50 years old.

CDC acting director Richard Besser said there were "encouraging signs" the new strain was not more severe than what would be seen during normal seasonal flu. The US government said it hoped to have a vaccine ready for the new flu strain by the autumn.

The WHO said flu surveillance should be increased in both humans and animals now that the latest H1N1 strain was found to have infected pigs in Canada.

A Mexican Embassy official in China said Chinese authorities were quarantining more than 50 Mexican business people and tourists after some showed flu symptoms.

The virus has been confirmed in: Mexico, the US, Canada, Spain, the UK, Germany, New Zealand, Italy, France, Israel, South Korea, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Hong Kong, Denmark and Holland.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!