Current Event 1 for the 4th Quarter

• The pandemic known as the swine flu is still spreading and even though most of the horror of the virus comes from public hysteria, the actual origin of the virus is still unknown. The country of origin is known to be Mexico, but the exact pig population’s location is not known. However, the communities in and around La Gloria valley firmly believe the cause of the pandemic to be the growing number of pig farms in the area. These industrial pig farms were already driving the local farmers crazy due to the foul stench, packs of ravenous dogs, and the vast amounts of excrement that came from the population of over one million pigs, which was feared to be contaminating the farmers’ water supply. These farms are owned by Smithfield Foods and though the farms are not proven to be the cause of the swine flu, there are a number of negative aspects associated with keeping such gigantic farms running. La Gloria, in the southeastern state of Veracruz, has been at the center of the flu crisis since late March. A mysterious respiratory illness infected 616 residents, more than 28 percent of the population, among them was a 5-year-old boy identified as one of the first confirmed cases of the new swine flu. The rest of the cases have now been confirmed to be seasonal flu.

• This story is interesting to me because the company that owns the industrial farms, which are thought to be the center of the swine flu pandemic, is actually based in my home state of Virginia. That’s right, the main suspect for the pandemic that is causing mass hysteria throughout the world is actually based right here in my home state, which is kind of interesting but still expectable that they would go to a foreign country and create miserable farms there instead of here. Anyways, the article was well written by the Washington Post and it provided an enjoyable story of what the Mexicans living in the very heart of this worldwide pandemic actually thought to be the cause of the disease.