WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (AFP) - Swine flu is thought to have killed nearly 4,000 people, including 540 children, in the United States since it emerged in April, officials said Thursday citing a new model for counting A(H1N1) fatalities.

The latest count is about six times higher than the previously released 672 deaths, and is based on more precise figures provided by 10 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

The total deaths so far from the virus total about 3,900, the CDC said, noting that figures were rounded to the nearest 10.

"The estimates derived from this methodology provide the public, public health officials and policy makers a sense of the health impact of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic," the CDC said.

"While these numbers are an estimate, CDC feels that they present a fuller picture of the burden of the 2009 H1N1 disease on the United States."

The CDC also stressed that methodology was "not a predictive tool and cannot be used to forecast the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths that will occur going forward over the course of the pandemic because they are based on actual surveillance data."