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Texan first U.S. resident with swine flu to die

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The Associated Press

Published: May 6, 2009

McALLEN, Texas - Texas health officials on Tuesday announced the first death of a U.S. resident with swine flu, and said she was a 33-year-old schoolteacher who had recently given birth to a healthy baby.

The woman died early Tuesday and had been hospitalized since April 19, said Leonel Lopez, Cameron County epidemiologist.

Health officials stopped short of saying that swine flu caused the woman's death. State health department spokeswoman Carrie Williams said the woman had "chronic underlying health conditions" but wouldn't give any more details.

The only other swine flu death in the United States was of a Mexico City boy.

The teacher was from Harlingen, a city of about 63,000 near the U.S.-Mexico border. The school district where she worked announced it would close its schools for the rest of the week, though officials said anyone who might have contracted the disease from her would have shown symptoms by now.

The teacher was first seen by a physician April 14 and was hospitalized on the 19th. The woman delivered a healthy baby and stayed in the hospital until her death, Lopez said.

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