WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - The United States has 4,714 confirmed and likely cases of the new H1N1 swine flu virus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday.

Four people have died in the United States from the virus, which is behaving much like a seasonal influenza strain -- spreading rapidly and causing mainly mild disease, but severe illness in some people.

The CDC is now combining its confirmed and probable cases, having said that 99 percent of all suspected cases turn out to be the new H1N1 strain as opposed to other strains of influenza or other respiratory diseases.

The CDC also cautions that not every suspected case is being tested now, as it is more useful to look at the pattern of disease as opposed to counting the numbers. The World Health Organization reports more than 7,500 cases globally, most in the United States and Mexico.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox)

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