Mexico City, May 16 Inditop) Ecuador and Turkey have confirmed their first cases of swine flu infections.
The number of countries affected by the swine flu in Latin America has risen to 12 after Ecuador reported its first infection Friday.
Turkey was in high alert Saturday after its first case of swine flu was detected in the country. Thermal cameras were installed at the airports to detect people with swine flu, officials said.
So far, 67 people have died of swine flu in Latin America. Sixty-six people died in Mexico, the worst hit country, and one in Costa Rica. About 3,000 people have been infected with the virus in the region, reports said.
Ecuador’s health ministry said a 12-year-old boy has been tested positive for the virus. His test results were also sent to the US for a second confirmation, officials said.
In Mexico, 2,895 people were infected with the virus.
On Friday, the Panama health ministry confirmed four new cases of swine flu, bringing the country’s total to 43.
Cuba has reported two new cases of swine flu, bringing the total to three, while Costa Rica confirmed nine influenza A(H1N1) infections and one death.
Brazil said the number of suspected influenza A(H1N1) cases stood at 35 in the country. Colombia confirmed 10 cases, while Peru reported one case of influenza A(H1N1).
Other Latin American countries affected by the swine flu include El Salvador, Argentina, Guatemala and Chile.
According to the World Health Organisation, 7,520 people in 34 countries have been infected with the influenza A(H1N1) virus.