CDC discloses first swine flu death

ATLANTA The United States has recorded its first swine flu death, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed in an interview with CNN Wednesday morning.

Richard Besser, acting director of CDC, told CNN that the swine flu was responsible for the death of a 23-month-old child in Texas, marking the first swine flu death outside Mexico.

“There are five hospitalized cases, three in California and two in Texas,” Besser stated during a news briefing Tuesday. “The median age is 16 years to 64 years.  We expect to see more cases and will continue to report on those.  As we move forward, we may start to move away from specific case numbers and more on to describing states and clusters.  The incubation period in the United States appears to be about two to seven days, which is typical for what you see with an influenza virus.”

And the swine flu may be spreading. While the current tally of illness stands at 64, CDC is investigating a possible swine flu case at the Joyce Kilmer Public School on Chicago’s North Side, according to published reports.

And Germany's national disease control center on Wednesday has confirmed three swine flu cases. Austria also confirmed its first case of swine flu.