The worlds peak health body, the World Health Organization (WHO), has raised the alert level for influenza A(H1N1), or swine flu, to the maximum level of six, declaring the virus a pandemic.

The pronouncement came after an emergency meeting of the WHO in Geneva where updates were received from around the world.

In the last two weeks the number of cases has risen from 15,510 cases in 53 countries to 28,774 officially reported cases in 74 countries.

In the last two weeks 45 people have died from the virus, bringing the total number of officially recorded deaths attributed to the virus, which first emerged in Mexico in April, to 144.

There is also ample evidence that some countries are failing to inform the WHO of newly confirmed cases in a prompt manner, possibly out of fear of damaging foreign investment and/or vital tourism industries.

Dr Margaret Chan, director-general of the WHO said: “The virus is contagious, spreading easily from one person to another, and from one country to another. As of today, nearly 30,000 confirmed cases have been reported in 74 countries.

“This is only part of the picture. With few exceptions, countries with large numbers of cases are those with good surveillance and testing procedures in place.

“Spread in several countries can no longer be traced to clearly-defined chains of human-to-human transmission. Further spread is considered inevitable. The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic.”

According to Dr. Chan, the influenza A(H1N1) virus preferentially infects younger people, while most cases of severe and fatal infections have been in adults between the ages of 30 and 50 years.

The table below shows a country by country breakdown as of 1400 GMT on June 11, 2009