Barack Obama cleared of swine fever virus

President Barack Obama is one of the first Americans to be tested for swine flu. He had to be checked because earlier this month he met the prominent Mexican archaeologist Felipe Solis during a visit to Mexico City – the day before Solis dropped down dead, showing flu-like symptoms.
 
The US President met Solis on April 16, three days after the deadly virus – now responsible for more than 100 deaths - hit Mexico City. The 65-year-old archaeologist and director of the National Museum of Anthropology (MNA), took the president on a tour of the museum and the pair attended a gala dinner together before Obama flew out of the city in order to attend the Americas summit in Trinidad and Tobago. The next day, Solis died.
 
Mexican health officials have denied that Solis's death was connected to the current outbreak plaguing the city, saying that the archaeologist was already unwell and suffered a heart attack as a result of pneumonia.
 
But according to US reports, Obama had to be tested before he could be given a clean bill of health. Robert Gibbs, a White House spokesman said: "The president's trip to Mexico has not put his health in any danger. The incubation period is 24 to 48 hours and we have been back from Mexico for nine days now. The doctors say he was not at risk."

Twenty cases of swine flu have been confirmed across the United States, including eight high school children in New York, and the nation has declared a public health emergency.

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