ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — A child in Texas has become the first fatality from swine flu in the United States, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.
“I can confirm the very sad news out of Texas that a child has died of the H1N1 virus,” the CDC’s Dr. Richard Besser said.
“As a parent and a pediatrician, my heart goes out to the family.”
He said the child was about 2 years old.
Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the CDC, confirms the first U.S. death from swine flu.
Six of the 64 confirmed swine flu cases in the United States have been reported in Texas, according to the CDC.
Besser said the CDC is not changing its recommendations as a result of the confirmed swine flu death.
“I expect we’ll see more cases,” Besser said. “And as we do, we’ll learn more about this, and if there needs to be more stringent or less stringent recommendations, we’ll be making those.”
The only other confirmed swine flu deaths have been seven in Mexico, out of more than 112 confirmed swine flu cases worldwide.
“Given what we’ve seen in Mexico, we have expected that we would see more severe infections and would see deaths,” Besser said. (Read more on CNN)
Categories: News
