ARGENTINA: SECOND LARGEST NUMBER OF H1N1-

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000844

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR OES/IHB - P. MURPHY AND D. WILUSZ

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO SOCI PGOV PREL AMED ELAB CASC AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: SECOND LARGEST NUMBER OF H1N1-
RELATED DEATHS IN THE WORLD

REF: BUENOS AIRES 0806


1. (U) SUMMARY: With 2,485 confirmed cases and 137 deaths,
Argentina is now second only to the United States in the
number of fatalities attributed to the H1N1 influenza
outbreak. A USG donation of 120,000 treatment units of
Tamiflu to Argentina was well-received, with the new Health
Minister sending a letter to the Charge to thank the United
States for this expression of friendship. Some Argentine
media misrepresented a USG travel alert for Argentina as a
warning against travel to Argentina; the Embassy clarified
that the Department had only encouraged Americans in high-risk
groups to consult their physicians before traveling. Sub-
regional health officials convened in Buenos Aires on July 15
to discuss the progression of the H1N1 outbreak. END SUMMARY.

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Current Status of H1N1 Cases
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2. (U) The most recent official data refer to 2,485 confirmed
cases and 137 deaths attributed to H1N1. Argentina is now the
second country with the highest number of deaths after the
United States. The GoA's Ministry of Health (MOH) estimates
that the number of all (H1N1 and other) influenza cases now
exceeds 120,000, a much higher figure than in other countries
of the region. Asked by reporters about Argentina's high
death toll, President Cristina Kirchner replied that
comparative data is irrelevant and claimed that the higher
figures were a reflection of the more honest and diligent
record-keeping of Argentina's MOH (a view that was separately
seconded by a U.S. medical authority interviewed in "La
Nacion" July 17). Her statement was interpreted by the press
to imply that record-keeping was less than transparent in
other countries.

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GOA thankful for USG Donation of Tamiflu Treatments
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3. (SBU) On July 13, Health Minister Juan Luis Manzur sent a
letter of thanks to the Charge on behalf of the "highest
Argentine authorities" for the U.S. donation last week of
120,000 treatment units of Tamiflu. The letter added that
"such gestures deepen the links of friendship between our
people." Earlier, an erroneous press report that the GOA had
transferred the entire donation of 120,000 treatments to the
Province of Buenos Aires had prompted Provincial Health
Minister Claudio Zin to contact the Charge to question why he
had no records of having received this donation. An
investigation by Post clarified that the treatments had
actually been delivered to the GoA's national Health Ministry,
which in turn had distributed the Tamiflu treatment units
among many Argentina provinces, with about 40,000 going to the
Province of Buenos Aires. Provincial Minister Zin
subsequently thanked the Charge for the donation and the
clarification. In a meeting before the Lower House Health
Commission, GOA Health Minister Manzur reported that the GOA
had distributed 1,200,000 treatment units throughout the
country and was hoping to reach three million units shortly.

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U.S. and U.K Issue Travel Alerts
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4. (U) The local press reported extensively on a State
Department travel alert issued on July 15, often with
misleading headlines stating that the United States had
recommended that people not travel to Argentina. Post
communicated the exact text of the travel alert to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency, and the Ministry
of Health. Post also issued a press release with the full
text of the alert to clarify that no travel warning or
restrictions had been issued. On July 16, the United Kingdom
a similar travel alert, which was also reported in the press.

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Regional Health Authorities Meet in Buenos Aires
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5. (U) On July 15, Argentina's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
hosted a meeting of MERCOSUR health authorities to discuss the
development of the H1N1 pandemic. Present in the meeting were
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director General Mirta
Roses, the Health Ministers of Bolivia and Paraguay, and
Health Ministry representatives from Chile, Brazil, and
Uruguay. Roses announced that PAHO would change its
monitoring system to emphasize qualitative indicators of

geographical dispersion and the impact on the health care
systems. Roses also admitted a certain degree of confusion as
to the behavior of the virus. "For reasons still unknown to
us," she was quoted as saying, "some patients experience a
fast clinical deterioration, with critical viral pneumonia
that requires mechanical respirators." The PAHO
representatives reiterated that they did not consider
necessary the closing down of schools, but acknowledged that
the H1N1 virus appears to have disproportionately affected
school-age children and young adults.

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The Progression of the Virus
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6. (U) Health Minister Manzur noted that the number of calls
on physicians and of interned patients in the capital and its
surrounding areas had gone down. He stressed, however, that
the situation was quite different in some provinces in the
interior, where the number of cases continued to grow
significantly. Horacio Lopez, Head of Infectious Diseases at
the University of Buenos Aires' Medical School, told us he
believed the virus may have peaked in the Greater Buenos Aires
area, but he concurred that contagion continued to grow in the
provinces. He and other epidemiologists are now concerned
that a second wave of contagion may occur.

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Comment
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7. (SBU) In spite of communication mishaps, such as the
Tamiflu donation, Argentina's health authorities appear to be
providing an aggressive and better coordinated response to the
H1N1 outbreak nationwide than before. The July 15 meeting at
the MFA also indicates that neighboring countries and PAHO are
striving for increasing regional coordination. As for the
progression of the H1N1 outbreak, initial indicators point to
a slowdown in Buenos Aires, but it is too early to tell if
this means that the outbreak is peaking. Epidemiologists are
not discounting the possibility that a second wave may be in
the offing. End Comment.

KELLY