Hawaii now has 616 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus commonly known as swine flu, according to today’s latest national count by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That’s an increase of 113 from the state Department of Health’s last weekly update on June 24.
The state has said it expects the swine flu count will continue to rise but will no longer provide weekly updates.
Hawaii’s first cases of swine flu — a couple and a school-aged child — were confirmed May 5.
According to the CDC, there are 33,902 confirmed cases of swine flu in all 50 states, plus the territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The CDC reports 170 deaths in the U.S. related to swine flu, a 34 percent rise over the last week.
The CDC said swine flu is the predominant flu type circulating currently, with 10 states, including Hawaii, reporting widespread cases. The other states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.
For a state-by-state count of swine flu cases in the United States, go to the CDC Web site at: www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm
Internationally, the World Health Organization today convened a two-day conference in Cancun, Mexico, to design strategies to battle the pandemic.
The WHO says swine flu is running wild in the Southern Hemisphere and spreading rapidly through Europe, with Britain projected to reach 100,000 daily cases by the end of August.
The virus is even showing signs of rebounding in Mexico.
WHO officials and experts hope to use the swine flu pandemic as a model for how such diseases spread.
Swine flu thus far has been relatively benign, but the WHO wants to see how the virus might mutate as it spreads through the Southern Hemisphere, which is now in the midst of its flu season.