Have Doctors Found Swine "Patient Zero?"

(CBS)  "Patient zero" - the first person to contract swine flu - may be a four-year-old boy in a small, rural town in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

Edgar Hernandez, officials say, tested positive for swine flu in early April, CBS News correspondent John Blackstone reported on The Early Show Wednesday. But, it's unclear if Hernandez is indeed the first case of the new flu spreading around the world.

For months, Blackstone said, residents of the mountain community had been complaining about pollution from a local pig farm, but it's not known if his virus originated from pigs.

"It's impossible to know whether this boy got infected from a pig, and whether this boy was the index case for this particular outbreak," said Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, a Yale University pediatric infectious disease specialist.

Hernandez has recovered, but the community is still on high alert.

Blackstone added that officials are investigating how swine flu could have spread from rural Veracruz, throughout Mexico, and around the world -- if Veracruz is really its starting point.

One factor may be increased travel across the Catholic country during the Easter holiday.

Another culprit may be widespread poverty. While officials urge frequent hand-washing, shortages have left some Mexico City neighborhoods with no running water.

Blackstone wondered whether that could be the reason that at least 159 people have died from swine flu in Mexico, but the virus seems much milder in the United States.

"Until we know how many people were infected in Mexico," Kahn said, "we will not be able to determine the case fatality rate due to this virus."

Over 1,300 people are currently being treated in Mexican hospitals for the virus.

[nursehopeny]

Actually the first know cases were 2 boys in California who became sick way before this boy did. But the media wants to vilify the Mexicans

[Alexander_van_Gogh]

Yes there are laws who protect people(children) for this kind of things!The problem is not the minor identity ,the problem is, why they don`t protect child face!?Probably because is from Mexic and they are to poor to protest!

[talk_down_2_you]

Geez, chill my baby girl Kranna. Maybe you're taking the CBS web site a little too serious. After all, one of the lead stories on the site is "Country Singer Voted Off Dancing with the Stars." Maybe they should sue too. I doubt CBS is the source of the kid's name because they don't send any news reporters anywhere anyway anymore since the neo-right set up Dan Rather with the bogus Bush National Guard story documents, which was basically true but set upt to discredit Dan Rather and hence the story.

So chill baby girl and simma down. If anything the boy will benefit and will probably be brought to the US for study and put on the Oprah show and stuff. He's a star now. More than any us posting ont he forum will ever be. So look on the bright side Kranna and troll for bogus law suits on the Fox faux news site where fact checking is only done on Democrats.

[buttonjockey]

: There are no laws protecting people from being mentioned in the news. In addition, they never
: gave the name of his town,

The town is Perote, Veracruz. It appears on one of the maps on this site. Oh yes, give up on the idea that there is any privacy anymore.

[krannawitter]

"So much for protecting the innocent. Isn't it true that the names of juveniles are to be witheld from the media? I hope the family gets lawyered up really good and jumps in to a lawsuit for endnagering the welfare of a child."

---- LMAO Does this little peasant boy look like his parents can afford a lawyer and sue CBS? There are no laws protecting people from being mentioned in the news. In addition, they never gave the name of his town, I'm sure this story isn't being downloaded from the internet near his farming village, and I'm sure "Edgar Hernandez" in Mexico is like "Joe Smith" here in the states. The boy is perfectly safe!

[ici2i]

So much for protecting the innocent. Isn't it true that the names of juveniles are to be witheld from the media? To me, this is an interesting article about a scientific theory or analysis. The name of the kid is entirley irrelevant. I hope the family gets lawyered up really good and jumps in to a lawsuit for endnagering the welfare of a child. In this case, it's not just because it's the American way; it's the right thing to do to teach CBS a lesson they apparently need to learn the hard way.

[talk_down_2_you]

Correct, this article is a joke. But on a more serious tone, I'm pretty sure I know where the epi-center of this World Pandemic began. It's obvious to anyone over 50 that swine flu most likely originated in the Ziffle family via their "son" Arnold the Pig in the tiny US community of Green Acres. It is not widely known that Fred Ziffle (Arnold's "father") died of a mysterious flu-like vrius in the late 60's and shortly thereafter the first warnings about swine flu began, culminating in the early 70's bogus vaccinations against swine flu by giving shots to old people in malls. I kid you not.