WHO confirms 3440 swine flu cases in 29 countries

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday confirmed 3440 cases of HIN1 Influenza virus or swine flu in 29 countries.

Here are the key developments on swine flu outbreaks, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the WHO and government officials:

Deaths: 45 in Mexico and two in the US, both in Texas. One of those who died in the US was a toddler from Mexico.

Confirmed cases:

• More than 3,440 worldwide in 29 countries, including more than 1,300 in Mexico, at least 1,639 in the US and 242 in Canada.
• Japan reported its first three cases on Saturday morning, an airport quarantine official told The Associated Press. Public broadcaster NHK said the two teenage boys and a teacher were returning from a home stay in Canada.
• Australia reported its first confirmed case on Saturday.
• WHO says up to 2 billion people could be infected by swine flu if the outbreak turns into a pandemic over months or years. But WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda says it's too early to tell how widespread or severe the outbreak will become.
• Hong Kong lifts its weeklong quarantine on a downtown hotel where a Mexican swine flu patient stayed, releasing some 280 guests and employees who had been isolated in the building.
• Mexican swine flu patient who prompted a quarantine at Hong Kong's Metropark Hotel is released from hospital after a weeklong stay.
• High schools, universities, dance halls, movie theaters and bars have reopened across Mexico. Primary schools will reopen next week.
• The WHO reports two new human cases of bird flu on Wednesday. One patient is recovering in Egypt, while another died in Vietnam — a reminder that the H5N1 virus is far from gone.
• CDC says only about 10 percent of Americans with swine flu are believed to have gotten it during trips to Mexico. Over the weekend, the agency said about a third of the U.S. cases were people who had been to Mexico, where the outbreak began.
• Diplomats and officials say WHO intends to shorten its annual meeting in Geneva later this month because health ministries around the world are busy with the outbreak.