TOKYO - JAPAN'S tally of H1N1 flu cases hit 1,000 on Thursday after two new infections were reported, but there have been no deaths from the A(H1N1) virus, the health ministry said.

The virus was first reported in Japan in early May and quickly spread through high schools in the western cities of Kobe and Osaka before infecting a wider population.

The World Health Organisation in a global update on Wednesday reported 55,867 laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in 109 countries and 238 human deaths from the disease since late March. -- AFP