Colombian president Alvaro Uribe has contracted the H1N1 swine flu virus and is being treated by doctors while continuing to work from his residence. “He is working by telephone and Internet,” , government spokesman Cesar Velasquez said.
A popular conservative and Washington’s key ally in South America, Uribe attended a summit with other regional leaders last Friday in Argentina. He started suffering from fever, headache and backache after the meeting. The leaders who met with the 57-year-old Uribe at the summit have been advised of his infection.
Costa Rican president Oscar Arias was the first known head of government to have caught swine flu. He recovered earlier this month from a mild case of the virus and returned to his normal routine after working from home for about a week.
Colombia has reported 621 confirmed cases of swine flu with 34 deaths, according to its social protection ministry. The H1N1 swine flu virus spread widely after emerging in April in Mexico and the United States.
