■ARGENTINA
Pigs contract swine flu
Swine flu has been detected in numerous pigs at a farm near the Argentine capital, but the virus has not shown itself to be any deadlier to the animals than a normal flu, the government said on Friday. The discovery comes as the country is experiencing a human swine flu outbreak during the South American winter. The Health Ministry confirmed three new deaths — raising the country’s toll to 26, more than any other nation on the continent. Jorge Amaya, chief of the National Agricultural Health and Quality Service, told Mitre radio that about a quarter of the pigs at the unidentified farm in Buenos Aires Province were found to be infected. “The mortality rate is less than 2 percent, which is typical of a normal flu for swine,” Amaya said.
■MEXICO
Twelve dead in shootout
A shootout between police and suspected cartel hitmen in a central state on Friday left at least 12 people dead and one police officer wounded, officials said. Guanajuato state Attorney General Carlos Zamarripa said police and soldiers were checking a report of armed men at a building in the town of Apaseo el Alto when assailants opened fire and lobbed grenades at them. All the 12 dead were gunmen, Zamarripa said. Twelve suspects were detained. Governor Juan Manuel Oliva said one police officer was wounded in the shootout in Guanajuato. The group was allegedly working for the Zetas, a gang of assassins tied to the Gulf cartel. The country is suffering a wave of gang violence that has killed more than 10,800 people since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and launched a military-led crackdown on drug traffickers.
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