Two more Bermuda residents have been confirmed as having swine flu this month, putting the total on the Island since the outbreak at six.

The tally of those infected with the H1N1 virus now includes four residents and two visitors.

The two most recent cases, both reported in the last three weeks, concern Bermuda residents rather than visitors, according to the Department of Health.

There have been no deaths in Bermuda from the Influenza strain, which is now being described as an international pandemic by the World Health Organisation.

"At this point, further spread of the pandemic, within affected countries and to new countries, is considered inevitable," said the Department of Health in a recent statement. "The 2009 influenza pandemic has spread internationally with unprecedented speed.

"In past pandemics, influenza viruses have needed more than six months to spread as widely as the new H1N1 virus has spread in less than six weeks."

Bermuda continues to follow WHO guidelines on the swine flu pandemic, according to the Department.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Cann said earlier this month that more swine flu cases could be expected to hit the Island this winter.

The worldwide death toll from swine flu has doubled in the past month, reaching more than 700 since the start of the outbreak last spring, the WHO said on Tuesday.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said on Monday that there had been 2,300 new reported cases in 24 hours, taking the global total to almost 140,000 cases.