First swine flu death in CANADA, as US cases double

08.may.09
AFP

OTTAWA -- The Americas were back in the spotlight over swine flu fears
Friday as Canada announced its first death, the number of US infections
almost doubled, and more cases were found in Latin America.
US President Barack Obama warned the United States was not out of the
woods yet, as across the nation's northern border a woman in western
Alberta province became the first person in Canada to succumb to the
disease.
"We have our first fatality in Alberta that is associated with the H1N1
flu," said Andre Corriveau, the province's chief medical officer.
"This is the first one in Canada that we can document that is related to
H1N1," he said, adding "there were also a number of underlying medical
conditions."
Canada has the third highest number of swine flu infections with 224
cases, but the United States overtook Mexico on Friday to become the
country with the most number of patients recording 1,639 cases in 43
states.
Mexico, which was the epicenter of the worldwide epidemic, raised its
swine flu death toll to 45, with the confirmed cases going up to 1,319,
of which more than half were younger than 20. Two people have also died
in the US.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that 2,500 people in 26
countries had tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus.
As the number of US cases jumped overnight with more tests put in place,
Obama warned Americans to remain vigilant.