Swine flu cases rise worldwide as Mexico lowers its alert level

GENEVA, Switzerland (CNN) -- The number of confirmed cases of swine flu jumped to 1,025 on Monday, comprising 20 countries, the World Health Organization said.

The death toll climbed as well as Mexico's health minister announced that a 26th person in the country was confirmed to have died from the H1N1 virus, also called swine flu.

There has been one confirmed death outside Mexico, a Mexican toddler who was in the United States visiting relatives.

The WHO said there were no immediate plans to raise its alert to the highest level, Phase 6. That designation would mean "that we are seeing continued spread of the virus to countries outside of one region," WHO Assistant Director-General Keiji Fukuda said at a news conference.

"If you are seeing community outbreaks occur in multiple regions of the world, it really tells us if the virus has established itself and that we can expect to see disease in most countries in the world."

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 286 confirmed cases across 36 states, 60 more cases than the day before.

The numbers are expected to increase. Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC's interim deputy director for public health, said Sunday, "We believe we're just on the upswing here."