Geneva - The World Health Organization has increased the number of laboratory-confirmed infections of influenza (H1N1) in humans to 2,371 cases in 24 countries.

In a posting to its website late Thursday, the organization said Mexico had 1,112 confirmed human cases of infection, including 42 deaths and the United States had 896 cases with two deaths. Canada had 201 infections.

In Europe, Spain remained hardest hit with 81 cases followed by Britain with 32.

Earlier, the UN's health agency had reported 2,099 cases in 23 countries. The latest country to be added to the list is Poland, which had one case.

Meanwhile the United States, Mexico and Canada have urged trading partners around the world to lift all restrictions on pork products that were adopted because of the virus' outbreak, and left open the possibility of legal action to remove the barriers.

"Influenza viruses are not known to be transmissible to people through eating processed pork or other food products derived from pigs," said a reissued joint statement by the WHO, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

"Pork and pork products, handled in accordance with good hygienic practices ... will not be a source of infection," the statement added.

The WHO has not recommended travel restrictions.