Mexican child brought to Houston for treatment dies

Houston Chronicle:

The first reported death in the United States from the swine flu outbreak was that of a 23-month-old Mexican boy who fell ill in Brownsville and was transported for treatment at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, where he died Monday, officials said.

Dr. David Persse, director of the city's emergency medical services, said the acutely ill child was admitted to a Brownsville hospital on April 13 and immediately was rushed by medical transport to Houston.

He learned of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmation of the virus before dawn this morning. Other people accompanying the child have shown no signs of illness, and the boy was not known to be sick when he crossed the border, Persse said.

"This doesn't really change the landscape here in Houston," he said, adding it shouldn't be a surprise that a serious case was routed to Houston and it's high-caliber medical facilities. "We know it's in the U.S., it's in Texas and we need to take our own personal precautions."

Precautions include hand-washing and contacting a physician upon detection of flu-like symptoms such as fever, body aches, nausea or an upset stomach.

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While this is sad for the child's family, there do not appear to be any implications of danger for the Houston, South Texas area. Fatalities from this flu may have been overstated in other reports. All of the reported Texas cases of the flu have so are seen recoveries.

The Texas Children's Hospital is one of the premier facilities for treating childhood diseases. It is not at all surprising that a child with the symptoms of swine flu would be brought there.

CNN gives the CDC perspective on the case.