Two with swine flu die in California

LOS ANGELES, June 1 (UPI) -- Health officials in California Monday confirmed two deaths in the state of people who had contracted the H1N1 virus.

Los Angeles County health officials said a middle-age woman who had other, underlying, health problems was the first confirmed death in the county of someone infected with swine flu, the Los Angeles Times reported. County Health Officer Jonathan Fielding said in a statement the woman died in late May.

"Every death is regrettable, but given the number of H1N1 cases in Los Angeles, identifying the new H1N1 strain in someone who passed away with severe respiratory disease is not unexpected," Fielding said.

State officials confirmed Monday a middle-age man in San Bernardino County had also died of the flu associated with the H1N1 virus.

Fielding said the number of recorded H1N1 infections was decreasing. Los Angeles County had 93 confirmed cases of infection with the virus as of May 26.

Conventional flu types typically result in death for as many as 1,000 people in the county annually, the newspaper said.