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EPIDEMICS
Swine flu infections falling in Chile: health officials

Argentina declares alert as pigs found with swine flu
Health authorities here issued a nationwide alert Friday after Argentine pigs were confirmed to have the swine flu virus. The alert comes as global health officials worry that the A(H1N1) virus is rapidly spreading, and evolving, during the southern hemisphere's winter months. "We have detected clinical cases of the A(H1N1) influenza in a pig farm in Buenos Aires province; they have been confirmed by laboratory tests," said the national farm and food standards agency Senasa. Argentina is the second country after Canada in which the human variety of the virus has been detected in pigs. The measure is aimed at "strengthening the measures of control, diagnostics, prevention and vigilance" to avoid spreading the virus, the statement read. Thousands of people have contracted the virus in Argentina and 137 people in the country have died. Senasa director Jorge Dillon told local television news that the alert, which falls short of an "emergency," serves as a warning and allows authorities to have more freedom of action. Senasa said the outbreak was the second time the disease had been found in pigs in Argentina -- the first case of infection in pigs was detected in June in the same Argentine province. Authorities stressed there was no danger for humans to eat pork. Separately, the army in neighboring Brazil announced that starting on Monday soldiers will strictly control people entering at 31 southern land border crossings, mostly bordering Argentina. Soldiers will also hand out information on the swine flu. Brazilian authorities said this week that the swine flu had killed 11 people and infected 1,175. The bulk of victims were reported in Rio Grande do Sul, which borders Argentina. The number of swine flu victims in Paraguay, which also borders on Argentina, rose to eight on Friday, the Health Ministry in Asuncion said.
by Staff Writers
 Santiago (AFP) July 18, 2009
 The rate of infection from swine flu is declining in Chile, according to authorities in one of South America's worst affected countries.

Despite a death toll that has now risen to 40, health authorities here believe there will be a respite from the virus after a winter wave of infections.

"We are on track for the end of the first winter wave and we are seeing a clear drop in the number of cases in the metropolitan region (of Santiago) and in the south, and a stagnation in the number of cases in the north, which we hope will soon become a decline in infections," Chile's Undersecretary for Public Health Jeanette Vega told Radio Cooperativa.

According to the most recent tally by the Health Ministry on Friday, Chile has in recent days recorded seven new deaths from the A(H1N1) virus, bringing the country's toll to 40 fatalities.

Around 10,926 cases of infection have been confirmed since the first instance of the swine flu in Chile was diagnosed two months ago.

South America, much of which is currently going through the equatorial south's winter, is one of the regions of the world worst hit by the virus and has continued to record deaths from the pandemic flu.

From this week, the death toll stands at 137 in Argentina, 40 in Chile, 19 in Uruguay, 11 in Peru and eight in Paraguay.

The health ministers of six regional countries -- Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay -- fearing a second wave of infections, called Thursday for assurances that a future vaccine would not just be reserved for richer nations including the United States, Australia and in Europe.

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EPIDEMICS
Swine flu sweeping world at 'unprecedented speed': WHO
 Paris (AFP) July 17, 2009
 Swine flu has swept the globe at "unprecedented speed," the World Health Organisation said Friday, as a study warned the pandemic could tip the world into deflation and delay the economic recovery. The WHO said it would stop giving figures on the numbers infected by the A(H1N1) virus to allow countries to channel resources into close monitoring of unexpected developments and patterns in the ... read more






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