A Western Governors' Association trip to China being led by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. could be delayed because of the swine-flu outbreak.

Huntsman, the association's head, is scheduled to lead a delegation of at least three other Western governors to China for a week of meetings on clean-energy development. The trip is scheduled to begin on May 16.

But he and other governors may end up not making the trip because of the swine-flu outbreak, Huntsman spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley said Monday.

"Governor Huntsman, as well as other governors, are certainly concerned about the impact of swine flu," Roskelley told the Deseret News. "We'll watch that closely as this trip nears."

Utah has one confirmed case of what's now officially being called the H1N1 flu, as do Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada and New Mexico, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Among the other states represented by the association, the CDC is reporting California has 69 confirmed cases, Arizona has 18, Colorado has seven, Oregon has three and Kansas has two. Texas, which has 43 confirmed cases, also is the location of the nation's only death attributed to the swine flu.

"Governors want to make sure the outbreak is controlled in their states," said Western Governors' Association senior policy adviser Chris McKinnon. "They realize it would be irresponsible to leave town during something like this."

Neither the association nor Huntsman has named the governors who were planning to travel to Beijing and Xian for talks with provincial and national Chinese leaders.

McKinnon said China has not expressed concerns about U.S. officials coming to the country from states with swine-flu cases. "We haven't gotten any message like that at all," he said.

Huntsman has invited some of the same Chinese leaders to attend the association's annual meeting, set for Park City from June 14-16 at the Stein Eriksen Lodge.

Roskelley said Huntsman's plans to travel to Washington, D.C., later this week and then on to Israel for a trade mission could also be canceled because of the outbreak.

"We'll have to take everything into consideration at the point where he's intended to leave," she said. "We'll watch closely, and that decision will be made at the time he is to depart."

She said the China trip could be rescheduled. "Governor Huntsman is going to support his colleagues in their assessment of the situation in their individual states, so we'll have to see," Roskelley said. "The primary concern is going to be the individual states and the welfare of those states."

The trade mission to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv is still on, said Mike Sullivan, a spokesman for the Governor's Office of Economic Development. He said none of the Utah companies participating in the five-day effort to land new business ties with Israel has canceled.

E-MAIL: lisa@desnews.com