Edgar Hernandez Hernandez: Swine Flu's "Possible Source"

Guardian :

A Mexican village whose inhabitants were overwhelmed by an outbreak of respiratory illness starting in February has emerged as a possible source of the swine flu outbreak which has now spread across the world.

The state government of Veracruz in eastern Mexico has confirmed one case of swine flu in the village of La Gloria with the sufferer named locally as a four-year-old boy, Edgar Hernandez Hernandez. The federal government said tonight that he tested positive for the same strain of the virus which has claimed lives in Mexico.

Read the whole story: Guardian

Comments

[FROGi]

It is unfortunate for him that he he will be the most hated person in the world, surpassing bush. LOL

[busterbrownthefirst]

Huh? The point of the article is not the four-year-old. The point is that an entire town got sick and the illnesses, and possibly the entire current pandemic, may have been caused by a U.S. corporation, Smithfield Farms. I've been watching this story's developments with much interest, as I do love a conspiracy and the U.S. coverage seemed suspiciously sparse until quite recently. To give you an idea of what the company's been doing that might cause respiratory illness, you'll enjoy these pictures:

http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2009/04/12/index.php?section=estados&article=020n1est

http://enlace.vazquezchagoya.com/?p=812

To give you a look at this company's U.S. operations, and the EPA fines that caused it to relocate to Mexico so that it might pollute with complete impunity, try this--it's long but very good writing and reporting: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12840743/porks_dirty_secret_the_nations_top_hog_producer_is_also_one_of_americas_worst_polluters

I'd say stay away from trading in pork futures for a while. I'd sure like to see this company come down whether or not it's linked directly with swine flu.

[CarlosQC]

.

The Guardian doesn't say that 4-year-old Edgar Hernandez is the swine flu's "Possible Source" but is one of the 400 earliest cases known.

Who could be so mean spirited to create such a horrible post title and blame a little boy of this disease?

Have you watched today's Amy Woodman's video? She call it THE NAFTA FLU.

A Texas border region, a Mexican border town, possible Chinese immigrants coming to the US through Mexico, somewhere there is your "source".. now do some research before copy and paste, and create absurd posts.
.

[Panfilo99]

If you watch this Charlie Rose Interview

Laurie Garrett, Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations

Says it started in September 08 in Texas

She says it around the 2 minute and 40 second mark

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10256

----------­----------­----------­---

At the end of the day it doesnt really matter where it started

Influenza is a combination of different viruses

This influenza has strains from the North American swine and avian flu, human flu, and Eurasian Avian Flu

Meaning it developed globally and guess what?

Its effecting people globally

The same way its affecting Mexico right now it could have easily been any other country in the world.

[elatas]

The source is the porcine mill owned by a Virginia company in Mexico. The 4 year old is NOT the source, he's among the first victims. He's the only one who's blood work was kept and it confirms that these villagers, the first hit, had the swine flu. The origin of their disease? The US company and its blatant diregard for environmental protection.

[lovethesinner]

Republican DEREGULATION disease.

[MJinCanada]

Very good point. The disease source was obviously pigs. This boy and his fellow villagers were the first victims. I wonder if the parents whose babies died worked at the hog farm.

[Cullen Stalin]

Definitely messed up to include a picture of this boy, and lead the story with him, when the actual 'possible cause' is buried deeper in the story:
"The statement came after Mexico's national public health authority, the Mexican social security institute, raised concerns that waste from the Granjas Carrol facility may be responsible for the outbreak of illness, according to local media...
Smithfield, which is led by pork baron Joseph W Luter III, has previously been fined for environmental damage in the US. In October 2000 the supreme court upheld a $12.6m (£8.6m) fine levied by the US environmental protection agency which found that the company had violated its pollution permits in the Pagan River in Virginia which runs towards Chesapeake Bay. The company faced accusations that faecal and other bodily waste from slaughtered pigs had been dumped directly into the river since the 1970s ."

[DubyaGump]

Has the Guardian no ethics, the child is only four years old was it really necessary to release his name and picture, shame on you!

[stargazer13]

so where did all my posts go

beats me they were there one min and gone the next I started on page one and every page after and the only ones seen are on this page latest page all pages that came before posts are gone

so now I think there are 8 missing posts

[HarryParatestis]

If I were to look for the source, I'd start at Norm Coleman's campaign office

[Rangergirl]

There could have been others before him....Some people may have not been that sick and not even know they had swine flu...That little guys picture should not have been put on there...

[truesteam]

Do we really feel good about implying a 4 YO is the source of a possible pandemic without absolute proof? Even with proof, why name a kid and post a picture? This is irresponsible.
I believe the jury is still out on a lot of thing surrounding this situation. This is just pathetic, standards and regard for a child are close to nonexistent.

[SweetBabu]

Agreed. What good does it do to name this child? Very irresponsible.

[DubyaGump]

Agreeded and fanned, this is tabloid journalism at it's worst!

[OrbitOfOurOwn]

The GOP does since they can politicize it for use in their crusade against those that cross our borders illegally. Of course, this too shall soon show that the real culprit is the lax regulation - dramatically reduced by the Right - in their attempt to kow tow to big business.

[stargazer13]

I have posted at least six to eight times and they show up then they are gone

what,s up with that

[dutch163]

I have the same thing happen

?????????????????

[BlackYowe]

Shoddy science and media hysteria...

Using public health scares to terrorize the
public and push government/big pharma
agendas.

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/610.html

[stargazer13]

microbiologist have been having a few accidents lately

[stargazer13]

of the car crash and every thing in be tween kind

[Oussa Jman]

I am definitely watching Lou Dobbs this week, it should be very entertaining to see how he will put the flu epidemics in context with pushing the anti-burrito agenda. He must have a hard on the size of.. well... a burrito.

[edva]

The story mentions a US "pig meat producer". The only true pig meat producers are the pigs. The US company is the torturer, executioner, and thief of the pig meat, at a cost of great suffering to the pigs.