(ChinaPost.com.tw) – Argentines worried they may have swine flu have overwhelmed some emergency medical services at the onset of the South American winter flu season, health officials said Wednesday.

The Health Ministry said Argentina’s confirmed caseload has grown to 281, with an additional 1,032 possible cases being studied in labs. More than two-thirds of those sickened were young people, and 29 schools in Buenos Aires and the surrounding area have been closed for two weeks after children tested positive.

Sergio Alejandre, hospitals director for Buenos Aires province, said Wednesday that public hospitals are beefing up because with the arrival of the Southern Hemisphere winter, “consultations begin to increase … for respiratory problems, adult flu and bronchitis in children.”

Though the number of confirmed cases is less than one-sixth of neighboring Chile’s caseload, so many Argentines are seeking treatment that emergency services have “collapsed” in and around the capital, Carlos Chiarelli of the Chamber of Medical Emergencies said at a news conference. “A single company fielded 10,000 calls yesterday (Tuesday).”

Federico Diaz Mathe, director of national health organization Cimara, said fears have led to an “excessive demand,” so emergency crews do not have enough ambulances, doctors or nurses for those seeking help.

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Reuters

QUITO, May 25 (Reuters) – Ecuador temporarily closed its two consulates in New York City on Monday over fears one of its workers contracted the H1N1 flu virus that has sparked fears of a global pandemic.

Ecuador’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the consulates in the New York boroughs of Manhattan and Queens would remain shut until health authorities are able to confirm whether it is a case of the new swine flu virus.

The Andean country has confirmed 24 cases of the virus, mostly contracted by people who visited countries such as the United States and Mexico with the most confirmed cases, or who had close contact with travelers.