It’s been interesting to see the coverage of the developing swine flu epidemic so far. I am stunned and saddened that the right would use a human tragedy as an opportunity to race bait. None worse or more pathetic than the yapping rabid Chihuahua that is Michelle Malkin who seems to think that porous borders have led to the spread of this virus into the United States. Ms. Malkin will be shocked to learn that the roots of this health crisis are to be found in the septic tank that is globalization.

La Gloria
The short but fatal history of this epidemic can found at Biosurveillance, a website run by James M. Wilson V, MD, an expert in tracking of global infectious disease and in Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever. The outbreak seems to date back to at least February and to a locale called La Gloria, a rural community in the municipality of Perote in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

April 6

Veratect reported local health officials declared a health alert due to a respiratory disease outbreak in La Gloria, Perote Municipality, Veracruz State, Mexico. Sources characterized the event as a “strange” outbreak of acute respiratory infection, which led to bronchial pneumonia in some pediatric cases. According to a local resident, symptoms included fever, severe cough, and large amounts of phlegm. Health officials recorded 400 cases that sought medical treatment in the last week in La Gloria, which has a population of 3,000; officials indicated that 60% of the town’s population (approximately 1,800 cases) has been affected. No precise timeframe was provided, but sources reported that a local official had been seeking health assistance for the town since February.

Residents claimed that three pediatric cases, all under two years of age, died from the outbreak. However, health officials stated that there was no direct link between the pediatric deaths and the outbreak; they stated the three fatal cases were “isolated” and “not related” to each other.

Residents believed the outbreak had been caused by contamination from pig breeding farms located in the area. They believed that the farms, operated by Granjas Carroll, polluted the atmosphere and local water bodies, which in turn led to the disease outbreak. According to residents, the company denied responsibility for the outbreak and attributed the cases to “flu.” However, a municipal health official stated that preliminary investigations indicated that the disease vector was a type of fly that reproduces in pig waste and that the outbreak was linked to the pig farms. It was unclear whether health officials had identified a suspected pathogen responsible for this outbreak.

Local health officials had implemented several control measures in response to the outbreak. A health cordon was established around La Gloria. Officials launched a spraying and cleaning operation that targeted the fly suspected to be the disease vector. State health officials also implemented a vaccination campaign against influenza, although sources noted physicians ruled out influenza as the cause of the outbreak. Finally, officials announced an epidemiological investigation that focused on any cases exhibiting symptoms since 10 March.

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Newly elected Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir told supporters at an election victory celebration in Reyjkavik that applying for entry into the European Union was an overriding priority for the Social Democrats, and that she hoped that terms for Iceland’s membership could be agreed to within 12 to 18 months. Additionally, Iceland plans to move towards adoption of the euro.

More from the New York Times:

Buoyed by an election victory that gave a strong popular mandate to her three-month-old caretaker government, Iceland’s prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, told cheering supporters early Sunday that she would move to protect the country’s battered economy by applying soon for membership in the European Union.

Final results of the election on Saturday gave the two leftist parties in the caretaker government — ushered into power by street protests in January — 34 seats in the 63-seat Parliament. The conservatives of the Independence Party, the country’s traditional governing group, were punished for their role in the economic collapse by being reduced to 16 seats, the party’s worst performance since it was founded 80 years ago. As is usual here, turnout for the vote was high, at more than 85 percent.

Though the results gave Ms. Sigurdardottir’s Social Democrats and her coalition partner, the socialist Left-Green party, only a narrow parliamentary margin, the outcome was decisive in confirming the primacy of Ms. Sigurdardottir, the country’s first female prime minister and, Icelanders say with pride, the first openly gay politician to head any government in the modern world.

Her party’s dominant position in the coalition, with 20 seats to the Left-Green’s 14, appeared to give her a strong hand in resolving the parties’ differences over joining the European Union. Ms. Sigurdardottir, 66, argues that membership, together with abandoning Iceland’s currency, the krona, for the euro, would provide a shield for Iceland as it seeks to work its way out of the financial crisis.

With opinion polls showing views on European Union membership about equally divided among the 320,000 people in this remote land on the edge of the Arctic Circle, Ms. Sigurdardottir has linked her political future to gaining entry to the 27-nation union. She said Saturday at a news conference that applying for entry was an overriding priority for the Social Democrats, and that she hoped that terms for Iceland’s membership could be agreed to within 12 to 18 months.

“We want Iceland as soon as possible to join the European Union and adopt the euro,” she said. She added brusquely, “I should emphasize that this is a priority issue for the Social Democrats.”

That appeared to be a challenge to the Left-Greens and their leader, Steingrimur J. Sigfusson, a former truck driver and geologist with hard-left views who has served as finance minister since the caretaker coalition took office in January.

The Left-Greens’ reluctance to join the union is based on fears, widely shared in Iceland, that the country would lose control of its exclusive fishing waters off its coasts and of its other natural resources. It is an issue that has deep resonance in a country that has fashioned its national consciousness around a tradition of gritty independence and an ability to survive in one of the world’s toughest natural environments.

The party’s resistance to European Union membership has translated into an insistence on a drawn-out procedure that would have Icelanders approve any entry application in a referendum first, and then have a second referendum on entry terms agreed on with Brussels. The Social Democrats have insisted on a simpler and potentially much faster route, with an application for entry within weeks, and a single referendum on whatever terms are negotiated.

Mr. Sigfusson, the Left-Greens’ leader, has hinted that his party may compromise on the referendum issue to keep the coalition together, while retaining the option of campaigning against European Union entry when the issue comes to a vote.

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Iceland had one of the world’s most prosperous economies, until its financial system crashed six months ago.

Now an investigation is underway into allegations of financial wrongdoing and corruption surrounding the collapse of the country’s banking industry.

Jonah Hull reports from Reykjavik.

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As the global economy continues to falter, concern is rising for those living on the margins of society. Cambodia has enjoyed more than a decade of solid growth but, as that slows, more and more people are being left by the wayside.

Opposition politicians say corruption means that most of the foreign aid coming into the country is not reaching those in need.

It should be noted that about half of Cambodians live on a dollar and a half a day and while Cambodia has a development plan to end endemic poverty by 2020, the country is likely unable to turn the corner unless it tackles governance and corruption problems.

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Women in Bahrain are increasingly taking up traditionally “male” jobs, but they face an uphill struggle against the country’s more conservative residents.

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra took a ride with one of Bahrain’s female taxi drivers and found that her drive for change is still facing some obstacles.

Well, it must be having some effect for there is this letter by G. Wilson of Yorkhire to Gulf Daily News:

Bahrain a beacon of civilised tolerance

A few days ago my wife and I used one of the new ‘London cabs’ of the Arabian Taxi Company. The lady driver was very courteous, efficient and transported us to our destination in her clean spacious cab.

Shortly afterwards, I saw the picture of the lady in the GDN and felt sorry to read that she and her female colleagues were experiencing threatening behaviour from male taxi drivers, (GDN, April 3).

Along with Radio Meter Taxi cabs, I found the Arabian Taxi Company a breath of fresh air. When I lived in Bahrain a few years ago, I would often use the cabs that touted their trade with a toot of the horn.

Sometimes the drivers would switch on the meters though the majority covered them with tissues or cardboard, hoping to obtain a higher fare.

The arrival of the Arabian Taxi Company therefore is very welcome.

Bahrain has a lot to be proud of. That is why my wife and I return to the country year after year. Compared to the other parts of the Middle East, Bahrain stands out as one of the most enlightened, civilised and tolerant of all Muslim countries.

For the taxi lady to make an honest living as a cab driver illustrates my point.

Could she do so on the other side of the causeway? We all know the answer to that.

G Wilson
Yorkshire, England

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