Global A/H1N1 cases exceed 18,900

The World Health Organization says it is "getting closer" to declaring a global outbreak of the A/H1N1 virus.

The WHO's flu chief, Keiji Fukuda, says the disease has spread to 64 countries and regions and infected 18,965 people. 117 have been killed by the disease, among those, 97 were Mexican. Fukuda says the organization is now calling the situation "moderate" rather than "mild" because it's still unclear how serious the virus is.

Meanwhile, Egypt's health minister announced the country's first case of the flu when a 12-year-old Egyptian-American arriving in the country tested positive for the disease. This is the first case on the African continent. In China, 10 new confirmed cases of A/H-1 N-1 flu have been reported, bringing the total number in the Chinese mainland to 49.