A government official confirmed the first U.S. death from the new H1N1 swine flu on Wednesday, a 23-month-old child who died in Texas. It is the first death from swine flu reported outside Mexico, the country hardest hit by the influenza outbreak. The official gave no other details on the case. U.S. officials have confirmed 65 cases of swine flu, most of them mild. Wednesday, Malaysia took the extraordinary step of asking the W.H.O. to endorse a ban on all travel out of Mexico. “We have spoken to W.H.O. officials and asked them to stop those in Mexico leaving the country,” said Liow Tiong Lai, the Malaysian health minister, quoted by Bloomberg News. The Malaysian request came despite a W.H.O. statement that said there was no need for any “restriction of regular travel or closure of borders.” Such measures, the agency said, would be ineffective in stopping the spread of the virus.
