WHO: H1N1 deaths near 8,000

GENEVA, Switzerland, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The World Health Organization says there have been nearly 8,000 H1N1 deaths worldwide so far, with the total rising by more than 1,000 in a single week.

WHO figures show at least 7,826 people worldwide have died since the H1N1 influenza virus first became apparent in Mexico in April, the BBC reported Saturday.

Europe experienced an 85 percent increase in H1N1 deaths during the last week with its toll increasing from at least 350 to at least 650 people.

WHO's special adviser on pandemic influenza, Keiji Fukuda, said the influenza strain still appears to be mutating, but most sufferers only experience mild symptoms.

"If every mutation is reported out there it would be like reporting changes in the weather," Fukuda said.

"The question is whether these mutations suggest that there is a fundamental change going on in viruses out there -- whether there's a turn for the worse in terms of severity."

France's Health Surveillance Institute said in a statement that a mutated form of H1N1 has been blamed for the deaths of two people in two French cities, the BBC reported.

"This mutation could increase the ability of the virus to affect the respiratory tracts and, in particular, the lung tissue," the government agency said.