Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Health officials are investigating if an outbreak of swine flu in Mexico that has reportedly left nearly 60 dead has spread to the United States, where cases of a new strain of H1N1 virus has infected seven people.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is investigating the five confirmed cases of swine influenza in California and two in Texas.
All seven people, including a nine-year old girl in Imperial County, CA, did not have contact with pigs. They have fully recovered but the virus that caused the infections "contain[s] a unique combination of gene segments that previously has not been reported among swine or human influenza viruses in the United States or elsewhere," the CDC said.
Swine flu is a rare among humans, and only 12 cases have been reported in the United States since 2005. Infections are usually among people who work in close proximity to pigs. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and a lack of appetite.
More than 800 people are believed to be infected with swine flu in Mexico, which canceled classes in all levels on Friday. Mexican officials have confirmed 20 deaths, but as much as 60 people are suspected to have died due to the epidemic.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has issued a travel advisory warning that people who recently returned from Mexico could be infected.
The World Health Organization has said the exposures in the Latin American nation was among healthy adults.
"Because these cases are not happening in the very old or the very young, which is normal with seasonal influenza, this is an unusual event and a cause for heightened concern," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told CBC.
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