Swine flu cases reach nearly 6,500

UNITED NATIONS, May 14 (UPI) -- The United Nations' World Health Organization said Thursday there are nearly 6,500 laboratory-confirmed cases of the swine flu worldwide.

A WHO statement said there are cases of the H1N1 infection reported by 33 countries. So far, 65 people have died from the virus, known as the swine flu.

Dr. Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant director-general for health security and environment, said the majority of cases have been reported from North America.

The United States has reported the most cases, with 3,352. Mexico has reported 2,446 cases and Canada 389 cases, the statement said.

"We continue to be at the pandemic alert Phase 5," Fukuda said. "We continue to be looking for evidence of whether we have moved into Phase 6 but so far that has not occurred."

Phase 5 on WHO's six-point warning scale means that sustained human-to-human transmission of the new flu strain is restricted to one of the agency's geographic regions. In this case, it's North America.