First US Swine Flu Death Reported In Texas
The first confirmed death due to swine flu has been reported in Texas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Richard Besser, CDC director, told CNN that a 23-month-old child has become the first confirmed US casualty from swine flu.
“I fully expect we will see deaths from this infection," said Besser.
Cases of the virus have risen to 45 in New York, 11 in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Indiana and Ohio.
So far there is no vaccine for the infection, but health officials are hoping to have an ingredient ready in early May, according to the Associated Press. It could take months before shots are developed for human safety tests.
"We’re working together at 100 miles an hour to get material that will be useful," Dr. Jesse Goodman, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration’s swine flu work, told the AP.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has urged congress to release $1.5 billion in emergency funds for drug stockpiles in the case of future outbreaks.
Cases of swine flu have now been reported in New Zealand, Australia Israel, Britain, and Germany, raising fears of a pandemic.
"It’s a very serious possibility, but it is still too early to say that this is inevitable," said WHO’s flu chief, Dr. Keiji Fukuda.
In Mexico, the virus is considered the cause of more than 150 deaths as well as sickening more than 2,000.
Schools, swimming pools, and gyms have been shut down in Mexico City, where locals are regularly seen wearing masks to protect against the airborne virus.
Flights to Mexico have been banned in Cuba and Argentina.
"Sealing a border as an approach to containment is something that has been discussed and it was our planning assumption should an outbreak of a new strain of influenza occur overseas,” said Besser.
“We had plans for trying to swoop in and knockout or quench an outbreak if it were occurring far from our borders. That’s not the case here. The idea of trying to limit the spread to Mexico is not realistic or at all possible.”
WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said: "Border controls do not work. Travel restrictions do not work."
Meanwhile, in Egypt, officials have reported the mandatory slaughter of all pigs in the country in order to avoid the spread of swine flu. The Health Ministry estimates that about 300,000 pigs exist within the country, and slaughter will begin immediately.
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