U.S. reports second swine flu death, in Texas

HOUSTON/MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – U.S. authorities  announced yesterday a second death attributed to the new H1N1  flu virus, while Mexico protested curbs on its citizens and  pork products in response to the waning epidemic.

In Texas, local health officials said a woman infected with  the H1N1 virus died earlier this week.

“A woman from Cameron County who had chronic underlying  health conditions died earlier this week,” the Texas Department  of State Health Services said on its website.

It was the second death attributed to the virus on U.S.  soil following the death earlier this month of a Mexican  toddler who had traveled to the United States.

Health experts have said the H1N1 swine flu, which has  killed 26 people in Mexico, appears mild and does not seem to  be spreading aggressively outside North America. But Mexican  citizens and goods have faced quarantines and bans.

The global health alert over the previously unknown virus,  which has infected more than 1,300 people in 22 nations, has  also stirred trade and diplomatic tensions as alarmed  governments take protection measures to avoid contagion.

An AeroMexico plane yesterday picked up dozens of Mexicans  stranded in China after they were quarantined there. Mexican  President Felipe Calderon condemned the measure as  discrimination against his compatriots.

China, which was badly hit by a SARS epidemic in 2003, says  it acted correctly, and along with Russia and more than a dozen  other countries has imposed a ban on Mexican meat products,  despite expert views that the pork contagion risk is minimal.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said yesterday the risk of catching the H1N1 flu virus from pork was  “totally negligible.”

Following up on its diplomatic protest to China, Mexico  told the World Trade Organization on Tuesday it was “deeply  disappointed” by what it called “divisive measures” applied by  some WTO members against its pork products.

“Mexico urgently requests all its trading partners to  eliminate any restrictive measures established on Mexican  products, which are not in accordance with the scientific  information available,” the Mexican statement said.

U.S. and Canadian pig and pork exports have also been hit  by bans which rattled the $26 billion a year global pork  industry, in which Mexico, the United States and Canada are  among top exporters.

Mexico now says it is over the worst of its flu infection  and is set to gradually resume normal business and public life  from today after days of shutdown.

Calderon has announced a fiscal stimulus plan, including  tax reductions to lure back foreign tourism and cruise  operators, to offset the blow of the health alert, which  Finance Minister Agustin Carstens said could knock as much as  half a percentage point off growth this year.

Pedestrians and cars were returning to the streets of  Mexico City, but activity was still well below normal.

Many Mexicans felt their country, already notorious for  drug cartel violence, was being unfairly stigmatized.

“With all this bad reputation that we’re getting, it’s  going to take time to salvage the nation’s image … it’s been  bad luck for Mexico,” said Jorge Ramirez, 48, a chauffeur.

“There should be no travel restrictions or closure of  borders … It is not helpful to blame or stigmatize people who  happen to be citizens of infected countries,” Dr Jon K. Andrus  of the Pan American Health Organization told reporters.

Following World Health Organization warnings of an  “imminent” pandemic, which generated global alarm and shut down  business and public life in Mexico, scientists now say the new  H1N1 strain does not appear more deadly than seasonal flu.