2 More Swine Flu Deaths

Two additional deaths attributed to swine flu were reported over the weekend, with both victims suffering from other health conditions.

China also reported its first suspected case of the flu, according to The Associated Press. On Sunday, the World Health Organization reported that there were 4,379 cases of the A (H1N1) virus in 29 countries. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,532 cases in 44 states and the District of Columbia.

In Costa Rica, a 53-year old man died after contracting the virus, that country’s Health Ministry said, adding that he also suffered from diabetes and chronic lung disease.

In the state of Washington, an American man in his 30’s with underlying health issues and viral pneumonia died, according to that state’s health department. So far, three people have died of swine flu in the United States, the first victim a Mexican toddler who died in a Houston hospital.

The unidentified Washington man was in his 30’s and lived in Snohomish County, north of Seattle. The Washington Sate Department of Health said on its Web site that he had “underlying heart conditions and died last week with what appears to be complications” of swine flu.

He began showing symptoms on April 30, The A.P. reported, and was treated with anti-viral medication. Dr. Gary Goldbaum, Snohomish Health District medical director, said medical officials had not been able to isolate any “risk factors” for the man to identify where he might have been exposed.

Underlying health conditions appear to put swine flu victims at greater risk of hospitalization or death, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. Officials stressed that their observations were preliminary.

All three reported deaths in the United States to this point have involved victims with health problems, as has the single fatal case in Canada. More than 100 people have been hospitalized because of the virus in the United States. But most of the victims in Mexico, the center of the outbreak where 48 people with swine flu have died, have been adults aged 20 to 49 with no known complicating factors.