U.S. swine flu victim from Mexico
The child who died of swine flu in Texas was from Mexico and was in the Lone Star state seeking treatment, health officials said Wednesday.
The 23-month-old child was the first confirmed swine flu death in the United States.
The child, who died Monday, traveled to Houston from Mexico to seek treatment and was not a U.S. citizen, a Houston Health Department spokeswoman told CNN Wednesday.
The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta listed 64 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States.
President Barack Obama told reporters in Washington he learned of the child's passing overnight.
And my thoughts and prayers and deepest condolences go out to the family, as well as those who are ill and recovering from this flu,
during a media availability with Sen. Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania politician who left the Republican Party to become a Democrat.
We are closely continuously monitoring emerging cases of this virus,
Obama said. This is obviously a serious situation -- serious enough to take the utmost precautions.
Federal officials are in contact with state and local health officials, he said, adding, I would also urge health agencies and local communities to be vigilant about identifying suspected cases of this virus in your areas and reporting them to the appropriate state and federal authorities in a timely way. We need your assistance.
He said public health officials have recommended that schools with confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu -- or H1N1 -- consider temporarily closing their facilities to be as safe as possible.
Obama said he requested $1.5 billion from Congress in emergency funding Tuesday for vaccines and other needed responses.
Every American should know that the federal government is prepared to do whatever is necessary to control the impact of this virus,
he said.
UPI
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