Stockholm  – The number of global cases of the new H1N1 influenza virus strain topped 10,200 on Wednesday, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said.

The agency tallied 10,215 global cases of the virus known as swine flu, including 276 in Europe.

In all, 17 European countries have reported confirmed cases. Spain and Britain each had 107 confirmed infections.

The United States reported 5,469 cases, the ECDC reported. US authorities began to include probable cases in their figures last Thursday.

Compared to Tuesday, no new cases were reported from Mexico that had 3,648 cases. Canada had 496, while Panama reported 59 cases, according to the ECDC.

In the Asia and Pacific region, Japan had 176 infections. The increase of 47 cases compared to Tuesday was mainly attributed to outbreaks in schools, the ECDC said.

The influenza has claimed 80 lives to date, 72 of those in Mexico, six in the US, and one each in Canada and Costa Rica, the ECDC said.

The ECDC, with headquarters in Sweden, began operations in 2005. It covers the European Union, as well as several European countries that are not EU members. (dpa)