Argentina-Man dies of swine flu in Mexico.

ARGENTINA-MAN DIES OF SWINE FEVER.

An Argentine man died in Mexico ten days ago with symptoms of swine flu, his family reported yesterday. The government meanwhile said that there are no cases of influenza in the country, but that preventive measures are being implemented.

Argentine Horacio Marano died on April 17 in Mexico City, where he lived for the past eight years, his brother Darío Marano said yesterday. Horacio "had a cold. One day he went to bed and the other day my sister-in-law went to wake him up and he didn’t respond, she called the ambulance and he was transferred," Marano said. "His lungs were working at 20 percent, they hospitalized him; after a few hours his condition worsened and he suffered three heart attacks," Marano told a local TV news channel. Studies are being carried out to determine the cause of death, Marano said.

Health Minister Graciela Ocaña yesterday said that the country issued an epidemic alert to maximize preventive measures to avoid the swine flu virus entering the country.

The government urged crew members and passengers on flights from Mexico to advise immediately if they have any flu-like symptoms. It is also asking people who have travelled to Mexico recently and feel sick, to inform a doctor.

The health system has been ordered to watch for an increase in respiratory illnesses and promote vaccinations and preventive hygiene habits among health workers and the public.

At the Ezeiza Municipal Hospital 10 beds were prepared to receive passengers who present influenza symptoms.

"In Argentina there are no suspected or confirmed cases of swine flu," said the Health Ministry’s Policy Secretary Carlos Soratti, adding that "the situation is serious" because of the number of cases in the world.

Meanwhile, the Buenos Aires province Health Ministry’s Epidemiology Director Mario Masana Wilson yesterday said that "the disease will appear here."

"There’s no doubt we have to be concerned because this disease is new, it appeared in pigs in Mexico, and it is quickly spreading throughout the world," Masana Wilson said.

The local Mexican embassy yesterday issued a communiqué describing the measures that the country is implementing due to the swine flu alert, and said that people in Buenos Aires who want to know more about the virus can call the 0800-222-1002 hotline.

US Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne yesterday said that "it’s a moment in which several countries need to co-operate," to face the swine flu threat.