Lima - Peru's health authorities on Wednesday confirmed the country's first case of swine flu.

The victim was an Argentinian woman who was in Mexico only for a few hours on a layover when travelling from the United States to Argentina, Peru's Health Minister Oscar Ugarte said.

The 27-year-old was hospitalized with high fever, nosebleeds and a cough at a quarantine ward in Callao province near the capital Lima, he said.

The woman was en route Monday from California to Argentina via Mexico and Panama when she felt unwell during the flight and the captain asked for an unscheduled landing in Peru, where the woman was then hospitalized.

Peru's authorities are concentrating on examining travellers in their attempts to stem an outbreak of the disease. At Lima's international airport 5,146 passengers from 39 flights arriving from North America have been examined, authorities said.

Argentina meanwhile halted all passenger flights to and from Mexico. The measure was to remain in place until Monday, cabinet chief Sergio Massa said, adding that health authorities were examining three suspected cases of swine flu. Temperature scanners have been installed at Buenos Aires international airport.