AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The head of Texas’ health department tells lawmakers he expects some Americans eventually will die of swine flu.
Dr. David Lakey, the head of the Department of State Health Services, told the House Committee on Public Health on Tuesday that state officials are treating the outbreak as a pandemic, despite its mild effects on Americans who have been infected.
Lakey said the Legislature spent $10 million on antiviral medicine last session. Gov. Rick Perry’s request for additional medication from the federal government brings the state’s total to 1.69 million courses of antiviral medication.
The Austin American-Statesman reported Lakey’s remarks on its Web site.
The state has six confirmed cases of swine flu — three in Dallas County and three in Guadalupe County.