Reno-area toddler state's first swine flu case

RENO, Nev. " The first case of swine flu was confirmed Wednesday in Nevada after federal laboratory results traced the deadly virus to a 2-year-old child in the Reno area, state officials said.

State health officials learned from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta that a patient in Washoe County had the disease, said Martha Framsted, spokeswoman for the Nevada state Health Division.

The 2-year-old girl was not hospitalized and was recovering, said Judy Davis, spokeswoman for the Washoe County District Health Department.

Officials said another family member also was ill, and said they were trying to determine how the child contracted the illness. They said there was no immediate link to Mexico, where the virus was first detected.

"This child did not have a travel history to Mexico or other communities," Dr. Randall Todd, Washoe County epidemiologist, said at a news conference in Reno. "The girl attends a day care. Literally, as we speak, my staff is discussing this with the day care center."

Gov. Jim Gibbons said Nevadans "need to have confidence that our health officials are on top of this and that the person exposed to this is responding to medicine."

"We're well-prepared and doing the right thing, according to protocol," Gibbons said before the news conference. "Every asset and every employee of the state is available to assist if needed."

Nevada joined Arizona, Indiana and Ohio with newly confirmed swine flu cases, CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said.

In Mexico, where the virus was first detected, nearly 2,500 cases were suspected and 19 were confirmed. Authorities confirmed seven swine flu deaths in Mexico, and suspect the virus in more than 150 other cases.

In the U.S., one death is attributed to the virus: a 23-month-old boy from Mexico who died in Texas.

At least 93 cases in the U.S, have been confirmed by CDC and state officials, including 51 in New York, 14 in California, 16 in Texas, three in Maine, two in Kansas, two in Massachusetts, and one each in Indiana, Ohio, Arizona and Nevada. In Michigan, the CDC reported two cases but state officials maintained only one was confirmed.

Cases of the virus have also been reported in Canada, New Zealand, Britain, Germany, Spain, Israel and Austria.

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Associated Press staff writer Ken Ritter in Las Vegas and Correspondent Brendan Riley in Carson City contributed to this report