NM awaits H1N1 'swine' flu test kits

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Health officials are testing nearly 50 possible New Mexico cases of the H1N1 flu, also known as the swine flu.

It's taking the state longer to test possible cases because state officials don't yet have the equipment to positively identify the strain.

Earlier this week, officials thought they'd have the kits by the end of the week, but the kits were delayed until next week.

On Wednesday, Gov. Bill Richardson announced that two people are considered probable cases of the H1N1 flu: an 18-year-old man from Valencia County and a 1-year-old boy from Santa Fe County. Officials are still waiting for confirmation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

So far, more than 100 cases of the H1N1 flu have been confirmed in the United States, but it's only known to have caused one death: a toddler from Mexico who died at a Houston hospital.

A computer model estimates that about 1,700 Americans could be infected with the virus within the next four weeks.

In Mexico, more than 160 people are suspected to have died from the virus, although only eight deaths have been confirmed to have been linked to it.

While the strain has proven deadly, health officials said that the regular flu virus kills about 300 people in New Mexico each year.