Brazil's Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao said on Wednesday that the government will tighten the control of the A/H1N1 flu in southern Rio Grande do Sul state, which borders Argentina.

Rio Grande do Sul state registered the only death from A/H1N1 flu in Brazil so far. The victim was a 29-year-old truck driver who was infected while working in Argentina.

The state also had a sharp increase in the number of A/H1N1 flu cases in the past month, which was attributed to its proximity with the neighboring country.

A total of 70 people have already died from A/H1N1 flu in Argentina. Casinos are being closed and classes have been suspended in the country in an attempt to decrease the contagion.

According to Minister Temporao, the Federal Highway Police and the Armed Forces will be used in the flu control, and the Health Ministry will provide all the necessary support to the local governments.

The Ministry is also studying a special control program dedicated to truck drivers who cross the Argentine border frequently.

According to the Brazilian authorities' latest reports, about one third of the country's 977 A/H1N1 patients caught the disease when traveling to Argentina. The figures are likely to increase in July, when Brazilian schools enter the winter vacations.

Temporao also denied rumors that a Brazil versus Argentina World Cup Qualifier soccer match scheduled for September has been cancelled.

No decision has been made, he said, adding so far the issue of public health has not been involved in the event.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2009)