The swine flu outbreak has claimed its first victim in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Contro and Preventionl: A 23-month old child who died in Texas.
"We are closely and continuously monitoring the emerging cases of this virus throughout the United States,'' President Barack Obama said in a statement at the White House this morning, also acknowledging news of the death in Texas "received overnight.''
"My thoughts and prayers go out'' to the family, the president said today. "This is obviously a serious situation, serious enough to take the utmost precautions.''
Obama, urging health authorities throughout the nation to be diligent in the monitoring of illnesses, said public health officials also have recommended that schools with suspected cases of the virus, H1N1, "should strongly consider temporarily closing.
"Parents should also think of contingencies, if schools in their areas temporarily shut down,'' Obama said. "If we ended up having a school closure (because) a child was sick, just sending the child to a daycare center is not a good solution.''
Obama has requested an emergency $1.5 billion from Congress for to cope with a public health emergency that was declared Sunday by the Department of Health and Human Services. The known number of U.S. cases has tripled since then.
Obama swore in the new HHS secretary, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, last night in the Oval Office after her confirmation by the Senate on Tuesday and sent her immediately to a White House Situation Room meeting on the flu outbreak.
The president spoke about the newest flu development in an appearance at the White House this morning with Sen. Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvanian who is switching to the Democratic Party, before heading to a "town-hall'' styled forum in the St. Louis area today, his 100th day in office.
"We will be vigilant in monitoring the progress of this flu,'' said Obama, who previously has called the outbreak a cause for "concern'' but not "alarm… And I will make every judgment based on the best science available.
Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the CDC, confirmed the fatality in an appearance this morning on NBC's Today show.
With 64 confirmed cases of the disease nationwide according to the agency's latest accounting – including 45 in New York City – the agency maintains it's too soon to say how fast the flu is spreading.
Health authorities had anticipated the first death, after the disease claimed more than 150 lives in Mexico, where the outbreak began. Yet the death of the toddler in Texas is tragic, Besser said.
"As a pediatrician and a parent, my heart goes out to the family,'' Besser said on the Today show.
The swine flu case in Texas was one of six that had been confirmed in the U.S. in addition to 10 in California, 2 in Kansas and one in Ohio, according to the CDC's latest accounting Tuesday. The federal government also has started referring to the disease by its medical name, the H1N1 virus.
