VZCZCXYZ0012
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0844/01 1982044
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 172044Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4091
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC

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. 
 
---------------------------- 
Current Status of H1N1 Cases 
---------------------------- 
 
¶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. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
GOA thankful for USG Donation of Tamiflu Treatments 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶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. 
 
-------------------------------- 
U.S. and U.K Issue Travel Alerts 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶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. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Regional Health Authorities Meet in Buenos Aires 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶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. 
 
---------------------------- 
The Progression of the Virus 
---------------------------- 
 
¶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. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶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