Apparently, they’ve traced the first human case of swine flu to a little boy living in Mexico.  The New York Times wrote a piece on him the other day, complete with pictures of Édgar.  I’m not sure if it’s fair to have done that – after all, he’s just five years old.  Even if the article was published in the United States and in English only, it will only be a matter of time that the Mexican media pick up on it, if it has not already done so.  People in his neighbourhood will then see or hear about it.

Yikes. Not a good thing. Being ostracized is the last thing a kid ever needs.  He’s only five!  While he’s now well, and people aren’t going to get sick from him, he’s going to be labelled.  Being called “the kid who got everyone sick” at school or in the neighbourhood is not good, even worse if the kid was identified by the Mexican government as the first human case of swine flu.  This is all speculation, of course – the article doesn’t say much about other people’s reaction to Édgar and his family – only that they’re blaming the kid. 

Another issue I have was the way the Mexican aurhorities handle the affair. According to the article, Édgar’s mom was never told by the government that Edgar might have been the first case of the flu. Officials simply arrived at their home to fumigate and also took swabs of Édgar’s throat.  They didn’t explain to Édgar’s mother why they were doing this.  Not too ethnical, in my opinion.

Only if the NY Times and the Mexican authorities could handle the events with a little more sensitivity, it could have softened the blow to Édgar’s mom, and also five year old Édgar would not have to carry the stigma for the rest of his life.