WASHINGTON - A government official confirmed the first U.S. death from the new H1N1 swine flu on Wednesday, a 23-month-old child who died in Texas.
It is the first death from swine flu reported outside Mexico, the country hardest hit by the influenza outbreak. The disease is suspected of killing more than 150 people in Mexico and sickening over 2,400 there.
The official gave Reuters no other details on the case. U.S. officials have confirmed 65 cases of swine flu, most of them mild.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization was holding an emergency "scientific review" of the outbreak to determine exactly what is known about how the disease spreads, how it affects human health and how it can be treated.
Experts will take part via telephone from the United States, Mexico and other countries where people have been infected by swine flu. The U.N. health body said a report will be published shortly after the meeting.
