The number of lives taken by A/H1N1 influenza worldwide has reached 5,712 including more than 700 deaths this week.

According to data presented by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 4,175 people in the Americas, 605 in South-East Asia, 465 in the West Pacific, 281 in Europe, 111 in East Mediterranean and 75 in Africa have lost their life due to A/H1N1 influenza.

Swine flu was declared a pandemic by the WHO in June. The total number of lab confirmed cases worldwide has reached over 441,661 but the WHO believes that this number could be far less than the actual cases of swine flu as many countries have stopped testing and reporting individual cases.

UN agency said that in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere, influenza transmission continues to intensify marking an unusually early start to winter influenza season in some countries.