NEARLY 4,000 HAVE DIED FROM SWINE FLU

Swine flu has killed nearly 4,000 people in the US, including 540 children, officials said after devising a new counting method. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the new system is based on more precise figures provided by 10 states. The previous estimated death toll from the H1N1 virus in the US was 672. Latest figures show about 22 million Americans contracted the virus in six months with some 98,000 hospitalised.