H1N1 Expands, Kills Costa Rica Man

By Drew Nelles,  Newser Staff
Posted May 10, 2009 3:37 PM CDT
H1N1 Expands, Kills Costa Rica Man
This 2009 image taken through a microscope and provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, shows the H1N1 strain of the swine flu virus.   (AP Photo/Center for Disease Control and Prevention, C. S. Goldsmith and A. Balish)

The US swine flu count hit 2,254 yesterday and a Costa Rica man died of the disease, the first fatality outside of North America, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the US, 3,000 people are likely infected across 45 states and Washington, DC, including unconfirmed cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. "We think this virus is in most parts of the United States," said an official.

Some states have reduced or stopped testing, deeming it necessary only at early stages to predict the flu’s spread. The 53-year-old Costa Rican who died already suffered from diabetes and chronic lung disease. Seven other Costa Rican cases of swine flu, or H1N1, have been confirmed by the CDC. The World Health Organization said 3,440 people have been infected in 29 countries.

(More H1N1 virus stories.)

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