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CHICAGO: Texas became the second US state to declare a swine flu emergency on Wednesday as officials shut a number of schools and cancelled sports meets after the first US fatality was reported in the state.
"I'm issuing a disaster declaration which covers the entire state," Governor Rick Perry said at a press conference.
"This step will move Texas to a higher state of alert and release resources to address the spread of the virus."
The number of know victims of swine flu has jumped to 91 people in ten US states, officials said Wednesday.
New York remained the state with the most swine flu cases, with 51 confirmed sufferers on Wednesday, followed by Texas with 16 cases and California with 14.
California declared a swine flu emergency on Tuesday.
"There's no need to panic the incidents of swine flu have been limited in number with symptoms that are generally mild," Perry said, urging people to use common sense to protect themselves from getting sick.
The state's interscholastic sports league suspended all high school sports meets until May 11 and a number of schools were also closed.
A 22-month-old boy who died in Texas this week in America's first fatal case of swine flu was from Mexico, the epicentre of the disease, state health officials said.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said the toddler lived in Mexico City and flew on April 4 with his family to Matamoros, Mexico and then they drove over the border to visit relatives in Brownsville.
The head of the Texas health department, David Lakey, told reporters that it was "highly likely" that the child was infected in Mexico before coming into Texas. - AFP/de
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