2009 swine flu pandemic in South America

On 3 May 2009, the first case of the flu in South America was confirmed in a Colombian man who recently travelled from Mexico – since then, it has spread throughout the continent.

The World Health Organization warned about the arrival of the winter in the southern hemisphere, where there are seasonal peaks of flu, that could increase the number of infections.

[1] Following an Epidemic Alert order issued by the Ministry of Health, airlines were required to report passengers with influenza symptoms arriving from Mexico and United States.

[7] In addition, the government also stepped up safety checks, and thermal scanners were used on airports to detect passengers with fever and other influenza symptoms.

On 25 June, a case of human-to-swine transmission was discovered in Buenos Aires province, resulting in the interdiction of the hog farm where it occurred.

[10] On 2 July, the newly appointed Minister of Health Juan Luis Manzur estimated the number of affected people to be as many as 100,000, as well as 52 confirmed deaths.

Owing to the increasing number of cases Bolivian authorities have given students two additional weeks of vacations, and are canceling concerts and other big events.

Two people who had arrived in Brazil from Mexico with symptoms of an undefined illness were hospitalized in São Paulo on 25 April.

[15] The Brazilian Ministry of Health later issued a press release stating that while the exact cause of the two patients illnesses remained unknown, they "did not meet the definition of suspected cases of swine influenza because they did not have signs and symptoms consistent with the disease: fever over 39 °C, accompanied by coughing and/or a headache, muscle and joint pain.

"[16] The press release also stated that airports would monitor travelers arriving from affected areas, under the direction of the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (ANVISA).

On 27 April, the Assistant Secretary of Health Jeanette Vega, confirmed that there are eight suspected cases of swine influenza in the country, which are being examined at the Hospital del Tórax in Santiago.

[18] On 28 April the Health Ministry announced 26 cases under investigation: 16 in Santiago; 2 in Atacama; 2 in Valparaíso; 4 in O'Higgins Region; 1 in Biobío and 1 in Araucanía.

In this report, the minister stated that 1.7% of the cases have required hospitalization, 0.12% have resulted in death, 35.3% are being isolated in their residences while the remaining 63% are said to be in full recovery.

[28] The Minister of Social Protection, Diego Palacio Betancourt, announced on 26 April 2009, that 12 suspect cases had been detected, 9 in Bogotá and 3 on the Caribbean coast.

On 27 April, the Government declared a "national disaster" state[29] in order to face the emergency, which allowed health authorities to have a special budget to do so.

[33] The government purchased 400,000 oseltamivir(Tamiflu) doses, which will be distributed through the Social Protection ministry to the affected if there are confirmed cases.

[35] Ten days later, a local newspaper El Tiempo announced a new death on Bogota, reported at 21 June.

[37] On 30 August 2009, El Tiempo reported that president Álvaro Uribe had contracted the AH1N1 flu virus, becoming the second head of state to do so (the first being Óscar Arias).

[39] On 29 April, Ecuador closed its borders to Mexican citizens and foreigners of other nationalities arriving from Mexico for a period of 30 days.

The Governor of Callao, Alex Kouri, ordered that all passengers from any infected country, mainly Mexico, Canada and US, must be checked before their arrival on Peruvian territory.

The government has stated that the country is clean, but efforts are being made to examine slaughterhouses and they are screening incoming passengers from problem areas.

Having recently visited Mexico, the patient was flying in a Copa Airlines airplane from Panama to Buenos Aires on 28 April, but the flight was diverted to Lima due to her illness.

[52] On 8 June, two private schools in Montevideo were closed in order to prevent an increase in the number of infected people.

As of 12 June, the Ministry of Health won't give anymore information about new cases, since the flu has entered into a pandemic phase, arguing that it's no longer needed.

[39] On 28 May the Health Minister, Jesús Mantilla, confirmed the first case of the A/H1N1 flu in a Venezuelan citizen who arrived in a flight from Panama four days ago.

[citation needed] On 8 June, the number of confirmed cases increased to 12 also from citizens who arrived from Panama, France and the United States.

In this way, 44 cases of the virus AH1N1 in the country are divided into the following Federal Entities: 17 Miranda, Anzoategui 10; Táchira 4 Aragua 4; Mérida 2; Vargas 2; Bolivar 2; Zulia 1; Carabobo 1 and Nueva Esparta 1.