99 samples from Malbrán Institute were positive

Influenza A: 26 deaths, 1,587 cases, more than 1 million possible cases in the US

The National Health Ministry confirmed three new lethal cases of H1N1 flu virus in Argentina, which add up to 26 deaths.

The Minister also reported there are 1,587 cases of Influenza A, "Malbrán Institute informed 99 new positive cases and 44 negative samples."

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there are 117 countries that confirmed H1N1 virus spread and 67,895 positive cases, from which 309 died.

Meanwhile, more than 1 million people United States may have been infected with the new H1N1 swine flu, US health officials said this week, and infections continue to rise.

The new H1N1 influenza virus that has triggered a global pandemic is infecting people in the United States well beyond the normal period for influenza season, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in a telephone briefing.

"The key point is this new infectious disease is not going away," Schuchat said. "In the US, we're still experiencing a steady increase in the number of reported cases, with 6,000 new cases reported just this week."

That represents the largest number of cases to be reported in a one-week span since the beginning of the outbreak in April.

The World Health Organization is now reporting more than 67,000 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu and some 300 deaths worldwide.

In the United States, there have been 27,717 laboratory-confirmed cases, including more than 3,000 hospitalizations and 127 deaths.

"We are estimating about a million people in the U.S. or more have gotten this virus at a time of year when people really aren't continuing to get the seasonal influenza viruses," Schuchat said.

"A big question that everybody really has is what kind of illness, hospitalization and deaths will we see when our winter flu season begins?"