Argentina Confirms First Swine Flu Case

Argentina has confirmed the country’s first case of the H1N1 flu virus, otherwise known as swine flu, Health Minister Graciela Ocaña said Thursday night.

The virus was confirmed in an Argentine who visited Mexico and returned to Argentina on April 25 feeling asymptomatic. Within 48 hours, however, the person began to feel flu-like symptoms and sought medical help. On doctor’s advise, the unnamed person voluntarily confined himself to his home.

The person has fully recovered and has been given a clean bill of healthy by doctors, Ocaña said. “This is an imported case from an Argentine who was coming back from Mexico,” she said, urging recent travelers to contact health official if they have any flu-like symptoms. “He’s perfectly fine. None of the people he was in contact with have any symptoms.”

It takes health officials 10 days to confirm if a person has the H1N1 virus. “It’s a new virus so we don’t have the kits needed to confirm the disease. New kits designed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control have been ordered. Until we get them it’ll take 10 days.”

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