Chinese authorities say at least 20 people have died of H1N1 virus this year. The Health Ministry said the fatalities have been recorded from at least nine locations since mid-January. The ministry said at least 800 people died in China of H1N1 virus as of April 2010. According to the World Health Organization, H1N1 has killed more than 18,400 people and affected practically all parts of the world since it was uncovered in Mexico and the United States in April 2009. The agency said in August last year, H1N1 virus had largely run its course, declaring an end to the pandemic but warned that localised outbreaks of various magnitudes were likely to continue. Several countries have recently reported deaths from H1N1 as the flu season peaks but not on the scale seen when the outbreak first emerged, due in part to mass vaccination campaigns.