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The H1N1 virus has now become the dominant influenza virus around the globe, with high levels and an increase of activity in many regions, the World Health Organization said Thursday.
In a weekly update, the WHO's point person on the H1N1 virus, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, also warned the public not to treat the virus like just another flu.
Like seasonal flu, H1N1 is more active in the winter than in the summer, and a majority of infected people get better on their own, Fukuda said. H1N1 also is as transmissible and infectious as seasonal flu, he said.
But unusually for influenza, Fukuda said, H1N1 continues at high levels over the summer months, and many of the serious illnesses and deaths are concentrated in people younger than 65.
Seven months into the pandemic, the virus commonly known as swine flu remains at high levels and continues to increase in North America, Fukuda said. Mexico, for example, has seen more cases from September to November than they saw in the preceding months from April, when the virus emerged, he said.
The virus is also becoming more active in Europe and Central and Western Asia, Fukuda said.
Health officials this week reported an outbreak of cases in Ukraine, which now has more than 250,000 cases of influenza-like illness, with 235 patients requiring intensive care, the WHO said.
Activity is picking up in East Asia, Fukuda said. Mongolia reported "a number" of cases over the past week, he said.