London, May 1 (Inditop) An official who took part in the US President Barak Obama’s recent trip to Mexico is believed to have caught swine flu and passed it on to his family, a media report said.
The unnamed man, a Department of Energy employee, “came down with flu-like symptoms”, the Telegraph reported Thursday citing White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
“He is listed as suspected of having type-A H1N1,” Gibbs told reporters, referring to the swine flu strain that is believed to have killed more than 160 people in Mexico, one in the US and set off a warning of a global pandemic.
The man, his wife, son and nephew “tested probable” for the virus but only suffered mild to moderate symptoms and recovered without receiving medication or being hospitalised, the report said.
Gibbs stressed that the president had not experienced any symptoms. The employee began to feel sick April 16, when he attended a working dinner with the president.
“He was asked specifically if he ever came within six feet of the president, and the answer to that was no,” Gibbs said. He did not fly on Air Force One.
The US has more confirmed swine flu cases than any nation except Mexico.
US health officials confirmed that there were 111 cases of the virus spread across 13 states.
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