Flu fears abate despite new US death

Mexico was planning a return to business as usual and the United States eased guidelines for school closures Tuesday, signs that fears of a global swine flu pandemic were abating despite the first US resident death.

US health authorities said a woman with chronic underlying conditions died of the flu in Texas earlier this week, the first death from the A(H1N1) virus in the United States since that of a Mexican toddler visiting relatives in Texas late last month.

The virus has now affected 1,419 people, including 30 who have died, up from a tally Tuesday of 1,124 confirmed cases and 26 deaths, according to world health officials.

But Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, made plans to reopen schools and businesses on Wednesday as it estimated that the nationwide shutdown and the devastation to the tourism industry cause a loss of some 2.3 billion dollars to its economy.

And the United States, the second most affected country, said the flu appeared less virulent than once feared, and eased its guidelines for school closures.

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