First American Swine Flu Death Confirmed In Houston, Texas. Child Was From Mexico, Visited Brownsville.

A Mexican toddler who was visiting relatives in Brownsville, Texas and traveled to Houston for treatment has died there from complications caused by contracting the swine flu, but experts warn not to freak out. ”Seasonal flu each year causes tens of thousands of deaths in this country — on average, about 36,000 deaths,” Dr. Richard Besser of the Centers for Disease Control said. “And so this flu virus in the United States, as we’re looking at it, is not acting very differently from what we saw during the flu season.” Also, note that only seven of the recent deaths in Mexico have been confirmed by a lab to have been caused by the swine flu as opposed to the number 149 the press has been bandying around. Evil, evil press. According to the Brownsville Herald:

The Texas Department of State Health Services said the boy had underlying health problems when he traveled to Texas on April 4 to visit relatives in Brownsville. He developed a fever and other flu symptoms on April 8 and was admitted to a Brownsville hospital five days later, Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos said.

The boy was transferred April 14 to a hospital in Houston, where local officials said he died Monday night. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the death earlier Wednesday.

Houston officials report the boy was 23 months old, but state officials say he was 22 months old. State health officials said the boy would not have been infectious when he flew from Mexico City to Matamoros. None of his close contacts have developed symptoms.

Niño EEUU que murió por gripe porcina estuvo en México: fuerte [Reuters America Latina]