UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks during the monthly routine press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York, the U.S. May 5, 2009. All nations should vigorously cooperate in an effort to stem the spread of the new A/H1N1 flu virus, said Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday. [Xinhua/Shen Hong]

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that the A/H1N1 consequence "has been relatively mild" so far and "we have learnt valuable lessons."

The secretary-general told his monthly press conference that "so far, we have been fortunate, that its (H1N1 flu) consequence has been relatively mild, and we have learnt valuable lessons."

The outbreak of the flu and the way it spreads across the world "remind us that we are living in an inter-connected world, a threat to one country is a threat to all, requiring a collective global response," he said.

A flu outbreak that first cropped up in Mexico has infected more than 1,200 people in 21 countries over the past week. To date, 27 deaths have been officially confirmed -- 26 in Mexico and one in the United States -- though more than 100 are suspected to have died from the flu, reports said.

In Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) decided not to raise the alert level and did not recommend travel restrictions.

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2009)