Geneva/Stockholm - The World Health Organization increased Friday the number of laboratory-confirmed infections of influenza (H1N1) in humans to 2,384 cases in 24 countries.

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 214 infections.

A day 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, with one case.

Meanwhile, the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that while countries had the right to put people in quarantine to prevent the spread of a virus, they had to do so within the rules of international law.

"No one should be put in quarantine solely on the basis of their nationality. That would be an unacceptable and clear-cut case of discrimination," said Rupert Colville, a spokesman.

The comments came following an incident earlier this week in which Mexicans and others in Hong Kong were quarantined, seemingly without any scientific basis.

The WHO has not recommended travel restrictions.

Figures put out separately by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) indicated 1,204 cases in Mexico, 896 in the United States and 214 cases in Canada.

Compared to Thursday, there were 151 new cases in the United States, 92 in Mexico and 13 in Canada. Israel also had two new cases and has reported six confirmed cases so far.

In Europe there were 156 confirmed cases reported, with Spain accounting for 88, Britain 34, while Germany and France each had 10 cases, the ECDC said.

Also, 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 outbreak of the virus, 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.

US trade groups have estimated that the pork industry in that country has suffered over 7 million dollars in a losses a day since the bans were first imposed by about 20 countries including Russia and China.