August 2 alone witnessed 68 new H1N1 flu infections nationwide, mostly in the south, reported the Department of Preventive Medicine and Environment under the Ministry of Health.

As a result, the total number of confirmed cases reached 936 by 17h of August 2, but no death from the virus has been reported so far.

Almost half of the cases have been released from hospital while the remaining 478 cases are under medical treatment and strict supervision. They were reported to be in stable health conditions without any major complications.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported 184,435 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in 153 countries and territories worldwide up to August 2.

The epidemic has claimed 1,247 lives worldwide, the centre reported.

The disease is raging in several Southern Hemisphere countries such as Australia , New Zealand , Chile and Argentina now in winter, which is ideal to the virus development.

In Southeast Asia, some countries reported H1N1 flu mortalities, such as the Philippine with eight deaths, Singapore with five deaths and Malaysia with four deaths.

Neighbouring Laos, along with Brunei and Indonesia , each reported one death of the disease.

Thailand was the worst hit with 65 deaths reported./.