Within a couple of days of his return from a regional summit in Argentina, the Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has been diagnosed of swine flu. Confirming the news, Uribe's spokesman Cesar Velasquez said on Sunday that government officials have informed other South American leaders, who met Uribe at the summit, of his swine flu infection.

Saying that Uribe, the 57-year-old staunch US ally in Latin America, reported flu-like symptoms on Friday and was diagnosed of Influenza A (H1N1) virus, Velasquez added in the statement that was the President was not considered a high-risk patient and that he was "doing well," carrying out his official duties from his ranch in Rionegro.

Velasquez specified: "The president is continuing to work, and he will be in quarantine for some time as he recovers."

The summit, at Argentina's ski resort of Bariloche, was held by the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), particularly for evaluating the claims by the Venezuela President Hugo Chavez that US military deployment in Colombia could pose a threat to his country. Other than Columbia and Venezuela, the Unasur includes Argentina,

Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Uruguay.

Meanwhile, going by official statistics, including Uribe's case, the total number of swine flu cases, reported in Columbia, has risen to 621; of which 34 cases have been fatal.