Columbian president has swine flu

? Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has the swine flu and officials have advised other South American leaders who met with him at a summit of the infection, authorities said Sunday.

The 57-year-old Uribe began feeling symptoms Friday, the same day as a meeting of South American presidents in Bariloche, Argentina, and he was confirmed to have swine flu after returning home, Social Protection Minister Diego Palacio said.

“This isn’t something that has us scared,” Palacio said at a news conference. Uribe, a key U.S. ally in Latin America, is not considered a high-risk patient and will continue working from his computer, officials said.

Public health director Gilberto Alvarez said in a telephone interview that there was no need to put the president in isolation and that his condition would be monitored for three days to a week.

Palacio said Colombia’s foreign ministry was informing governments whose leaders may have come in contact with Uribe.

No governments immediately reported cases of sick officials.