[FACTBOX] H1N1 'swine' flu facts

The swine flu virus that originated in Mexico has quickly spread around the globe with the number of confirmed cases increasing almost daily.

The new flu, a mixture of swine viruses and elements of human and bird flu, has reached 24 countries and infected nearly 2,000 people.

Get to know the facts and precautions being taken around the world.

The Americas

• Mexico has confirmed 29 swine flu related deaths and 942 cases. The virus has caused travel restrictions and import bans by the international community.

• Mexico City recently underwent a five-day government imposed shut-down of business. Officials estimate that nearly two billion dollars has been lost in the crisis.

• The U.S. has 642 confirmed cases of swine flu. The first and only reported U.S. death was of a Texas woman living in close proximity to the southern border.

• Nearly 468,000 American students were forced to stay home as education officials shut down 726 schools.

• The best-known case of swine flu is a 1976 outbreak at an army barracks in Fort Dix, N.J., which sickened four soldiers and killed one.

• There are 201 confirmed swine flu cases in Canada.

• Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Columbia have all confirmed cases of swine flu.

The Middle East

• Egypt has not reported any cases of the swine flu virus, but has begun slaughtering more than 300,000 of the country's pigs as a precaution.

• Experts have said that even if pigs were the original source of the disease, they did not appear to be playing a role in its transmission now, which is passing from person to person.

• Israel is the only place in the Middle East to have cases of the virus, with four confirmed.

• Countries in the GCC are on high alert as they step up precautionary screenings of travelers flying in from infected countries.

Europe

• Spain has the highest number of flu cases in Europe, with 81 confirmed.

• Germany, Austria, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland and Denmark have all seen confirmed cases of the swine flu outbreak.

• A couple in Scotland brought back the swine flu while on their Mexican honeymoon. The U.K. has 32 confirmed cases.

• A 12-year-old British girl from the southwest English town of Torbay is the latest confirmed case in the U.K.

• Two other cases of adults from London and Birmingham were also confirmed. All of the infected had visited Mexico, were receiving antiviral drugs and responding well to treatment.

Asia

• Hong Kong has only one confirmed case of swine flu, but officials have quarantined U.S., Canadian and Mexican from infected countries as a precaution.

• Chinese officials have banned imports of pork and pork products from Mexico and the U.S.

• A South Korean woman is one of two confirmed cases of swine flu on the peninsula. The 51-year-old was on holiday in Mexico.