The number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States climbed to 141 today, dpa quoted the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as saying. The total was up from 109 on Thursday, with cases spread across 19 states. New York reported 50 cases, Texas 28, South Carolina 16 and California 13. There was one fatality reported in Texas, a 23-month-old Mexican toddler who died Wednesday in the Houston's children's hospital. CDC said it had already begun work on a vaccine. Acting director Richard Besser said Thursday that six people have been hospitalized. Mexico is the epicentre of the outbreak, with the number of dead from the new variant of influenza, A(H1N1), rising to 15 on Friday, and a total of 343 non-fatal confirmed infections, said Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos. So far, 159 people have died from an influenza-type illness in Mexico.
