With the rapid death of a 9-year-old-boy from swine flu, health authorities say that people with asthma can be susceptible to attack even if the strain is not virulent.

The boy, who had a history of chronic asthma, had flu symptoms and died a day later. He was Florida's first swine flu fatality.

In cardiopulmonary arrest, the boy was taken to the Baptist Children's Hospital emergency room on June 9, admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit and died the same day, the hospital said.

''Persons who have trouble with asthma can have real trouble if there's an attack even of not very virulent respiratory infection,'' said Dr. Gordon Dickinson, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Seventy-one percent of the 45 swine flu deaths so far in the United States have been of people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or immune deficiencies, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While the boy died on June 9, his death was not attributed to swine flu until results came in over the weekend, said Dr. Fermin Leguen, chief physician for the health department.

The 9-year-old was a student in a public elementary school, said Miami-Dade Schools spokesman John Schuster, who said he confirmed with the health department that boy was not contagious when he left school.

Leguen said the boy's last day of school was June 4. ''He started having symptoms on June 8,'' he said.

Neither Leguen nor Schuster would reveal the name of the child or the school.

Meanwhile, the number of swine flu cases is on the rise.

Confirmed cases in Miami-Dade jumped from 111 on Friday to 143 on Tuesday, although health authorities say that doesn't mean the disease is spreading faster in South Florida.

Leguen said the quick jump in flu numbers may be more a product of state labs catching up with testing than with a more rapid spread of swine flu. ``I don't think it's picking up speed. We're constantly receiving reports from the lab.''

The Broward County Health Department on Tuesday reported no new cases since last week, with a total of 82 confirmed swine flu cases. The Florida count stood at 417, the same as Friday -- not counting Dade's new case. State health officials said they are trying to update their numbers.

''Our hearts go out to the family and friends for their loss,'' said Lillian Rivera, health department administrator.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Ana Viomonte Ros said the tragic ending should not panic the masses.

''While most cases of H1N1 swine flu are mild, there are exceptions like this tragic case,'' she said. ``Nationally, the CDC is reporting 45 deaths associated with swine flu [and 17,855 confirmed cases], and as the flu progresses, that number will unfortunately rise.''

CDC officials stressed that the regular seasonal flu infects 200,000 and kills about 35,000 in the U.S. each year. It says the swine flu strain remains relatively mild.

A Tuesday online report by the CDC says 57 percent of swine flu cases reported in the United States are among people 5 to 24 years of age, and that few children or adults younger than 60 appear to have resistance to it.

About one-third of adults older than 60 may have antibodies to swine flu because of exposure to similar flus in past epidemics, it says.

Health officials are closely watching swine flu's progress through South America, where it is winter, for signs of increased virulence that might presage a return to the U.S. next fall with increased strength.

``I've spoken to [medical] associates in Buenos Aires, and they see no evidence of that so far, said Dickinson, who also is chief of infectious diseases at the Miami Veterans Administration hospital.

The health department also said there may be an additional case at Krome detention center, where five detainees have tested positive for the flu. An additional 20 detainees have flu-like symptoms but can't be tested for swine flu because they have been given anti-viral medicine, which invalidates the test.

On Thursday the World Health Organization raised the worldwide pandemic level to 6, its highest designation. But it stressed that it meant only that the swine flu has spread worldwide, not that it had increased in virulence. It reported 35,928 swine flu cases in the world with 163 deaths. It says the regular seasonal flu kills 500,000 worldwide each year.

Said Dickinson: ``The lesson here is that it's a flu strain that does not appear to be any more virulent than the seasonal flu we get every winter. And yet it still be a very serious infection, and people can die.''

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