State reports first swine flu death

By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff

A 30-year-old Boston woman is the first person in Massachusetts to die from swine flu, public health authorities announced this afternoon.

The woman was hospitalized June 5 and results confirming that she had the swine flu virus came back on June 10. She died on Sunday, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.

So far 441 cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Boston, resulting in 54 hospitalizations. Massachusetts has had 1,153 confirmed cases of the disease, which is known by the scientific designation H1N1.

Across the country, there have been 45 deaths in 15 states attributed to swine flu as of last Friday, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last week, global disease authorities declared that swine flu had reached pandemic status. The Globe reported today that the arrival of swine flu in the United States exposed gaps in the supply chain that delivers medication, masks, and even testing swabs to hospitals and doctors' offices.