Dr. Sylvie Briand, acting director of the Global Influenza Programme at WHO, told reporters in a conference call from Geneva, Switzerland, that Brazil is the latest country to report cases of the H1N1 virus, with four.
She also noted that the world health agency will remain at pandemic alert level 5 -- one step away from its highest level -- because while there are an increasing number of cases, there is no evidence of the community transmission outside North America that would push the alert to level 6.
Of the 44 deaths reported, two were in the United States and 42 in Mexico, which has the highest concentration of swine flu cases with more than 1,100.
