There are four deaths and at least 4,700 probable and confirmed U.S. cases of the H1N1 flu, formerly known as swine flu, with 22 U.S. states reporting widespread or regional influenza activity, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said on Friday.

In New York on Thursday and Friday, several schools were closed and an assistant school principal, Mitchell Wiener, was hospitalized in critical condition after becoming sick.

Japan confirmed its first case of H1N1 flu on Saturday, according to the Associated Press. The Ministry of Health said a male high school student tested positive for the flu.

India and Turkey on Saturday also reported their first cases, according to Reuters.

India and Turkey reported their first cases of the H1N1 flu, according to a Saturday report by the BBC.

The Malaysia Star said in its online edition that a second case had been confirmed.

On Saturday, the World Health Organization reported that 36 countries have officially reported 8,451 cases of the flu.

Japan India Medicine