Dutch confirm swine flu case in three year-old

First case of H1N1 in the Netherlands:

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch health authorities have confirmed a first case of swine flu in the Netherlands in a three year-old who had recently returned from Mexico, the health ministry said on Thursday.

The swine flu virus has killed up to 176 people in Mexico, the epicentre of the outbreak, and the World Health Organisation has raised the official alert level to phase 5, the last step before a pandemic.

Including the Netherlands, 12 countries have now reported cases of the H1N1 strain.

The Dutch case was in a child who had returned from a trip to Mexico on April 27, officials said. The parents, who were not infected with the flu, are to be given preventative medicine.

Spain on Wednesday reported the first case in Europe of swine flu in a person who had not been to Mexico, illustrating the danger of person-to-person transmission.

Both U.S. and European officials have said they expect to see swine flu deaths.