* H1N1 flu has killed more than 160 people in Argentina * Minister says patient queries, hospital admissions down By Damian Wroclavsky BUENOS AIRES, July 22 (Reuters) - An outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus is starting to ease in Argentina after killing more than 160 people at the start of the southern hemisphere winter, the health minister said on Wednesday. The new flu strain, which emerged in Mexico and the United States earlier this year, spread quickly in Argentina. Health officials have closed schools and urged people to avoid crowded places to try to control it. Health Minister Juan Manzur, who took office at the height of the swine flu outbreak, said the number of patient queries and hospital admissions had fallen by up to 35 percent. "When we compare (the situation) to 15 days ago, we're better today. That doesn't mean we're fine; the alert continues," Manzur told Reuters in an interview. Argentina is the worst-hit country in South America. He said the H1N1 strain had shown no signs of mutating or of developing resistance to medication, but had become the most dominant flu virus in the country of 40 million where around 1 million people catch the flu every year. "It's superseded the rest of the viruses. One of its characteristics is rapid transmission; it spreads quickly," he added. Argentine analysts have said total economic losses from the outbreak could reach $2.5 billion as consumer spending drops. The tourism sector has been particularly hard hit, as foreign travelers worried about exposure cancel trips. (Writing by Dana Ford; Editing by Eric Walsh)
Police cadets wear surgical masks while attending class in Santiago de Etla, Oaxaca July 22, 2009. Mexico's ministry of health reported in a statement on Monday 14,861 confirmed cases of the ...
