Roma, 4 Nov. (AKI) - There are at least 250,000 cases of the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu in Italy, media reports said on Wednesday. Italy's welfare ministry said there are 250,000 verified cases of the virus and a total of 18 deaths have been confirmed in the country.

Eight of the deaths have been recorded in the southern region of Campania, while three were reported in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, and another three in Lombardy, one in Sicily, Tuscany and Umbria.

"All the deceased had pre-existing illnesses, while we are still carrying out tests on one of the cases," said a ministry bulletin.

On Tuesday, a 37-year-old man from the southern city of Salerno became the latest victim of the H1N1 virus.

Health experts expect swine flu to peak in Italy between December and January, with an estimated 1.5 to 3 million cases.

The World Health Organization said on its latest update released last week that worldwide there have been more than 440,000 laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009 and over 5700 deaths reported to WHO.

However, WHO also said that "many countries have stopped counting individual cases, particularly of the milder illness."