The United States leads countries that have seen a dramatic increase in the number of swine flu cases since Friday, the World Health Organization said Monday.
Since Friday, 7,873 more people worldwide were reported infected with the H1N1 virus and 51 more deaths were noted, for a total of more than 52,000 people infected and 231 dead in the pandemic, Agence France Presse reported.
The United States has reported 3,594 new cases since Friday, for a total of 21,449 with 87 deaths, the WHO said. Mexico was stable (7,600 cases and 113 deaths), while there were 805 new cases in Canada (5,710 cases and 13 deaths).
Figures that have yet to be incorporated into the WHO's official statistics may drive the worldwide number of infections and deaths even higher. The disease has now been reported in 100 countries and territories, AFP reported.