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Official preparing Obama's France trip hit by H1N1


    PARIS (Reuters) - A U.S. official in France preparing President Barack Obama's visit next week has been admitted to hospital with H1N1 flu in the Norman city of Caen, French officials said on Friday.

    Obama stops in France next week to commemorate the 1944 D-Day landings on Normandy beaches by Allied forces which liberated France from Nazi occupation.

    "A U.S. citizen, who is in France as part of an official delegation preparing the D-Day ceremonies, has tested positive for H1N1 flu and has been hospitalised in Caen," said a spokeswoman for France's health authority.

    No further details were immediately available.

    The last data on H1N1 flu in France, released on Wednesday, showed 20 confirmed cases and no deaths. A further 10 suspected cases were under investigation.

    The Caen soccer team, which was preparing to face Girondins Bordeaux on Saturday, was forced to change hotels after the case of H1N1 flu was detected.

    Obama will be visiting France as part of a tour that will also include stops in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Germany.

    (Reporting by Sophie Louet and Estelle Shirbon)