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A state in eastern Mexico is to erect a statue to a small boy suspected as being the first patient of swine flu here, to be modeled on the famous Manneken Pis statue of a child urinating in Brussels.
Five-year-old Edgar Hernandez appeared in media across the world after the health ministry in April confirmed that he had contracted, and overcome, the A(H1N1) virus at the start of the epidemic's outbreak here.
Hernandez's role in putting his poor village of La Gloria on the map merited recognition in the shape of a small statue -- resembling the famous Belgian landmark -- Fidel Herrera Beltran, the governor of Veracruz state in eastern Mexico, told local media on Sunday.
"La Gloria is now an important tourist destination. Next week we'll inaugurate a statue of the child Edgar Hernandez that resembles the Manneken Pis in Brussels, Belgium, for having carried out a similar exploit," Beltran said.
There are several legends behind the Manneken Pis, including one in which an infant urinated on enemy troops, who were eventually defeated.
The statue of Hernandez would be erected on one of the country's highest mountains, the Cofre de Perote, Beltran said.
Suspicions that La Gloria -- which lies near a large pig plant -- could have been the launching point of the swine flu virus prompted a wave of media attention on the boy.
It is still unclear where the virus originated -- after initial cases in both the southern United States and Mexico.
The global swine flu cases stood at 12,515, including 91 deaths, the United Nations' World Health Organization said on Monday.
The figure included 80 deaths and more than 4,000 cases in Mexico.
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(Agencies)
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墨西哥東部某州將仿照布魯塞爾著名的“撒尿小童”，為該國首例患甲型H1N1流感的男童豎立一座雕像。
自今年四月份衛生部門確認甲型H1N1流感在墨西哥爆發，埃德加?赫爾南德茲感染并痊愈后，這個五歲大的小男孩就搶足了全球媒體的鏡頭。
墨西哥東部維拉克斯州州長貝爾川（Fidel Herrera Beltran）在上周日接受地方媒體采訪時稱，赫爾南德茲使自己所在的貧困村落La Gloria“一舉成名”，為了見證他的“功勞”，當地將模仿比利時標志性“撒尿小童”為他修建一座小雕像。
“La Gloria現在已經成為一個重要的旅游目的地。下周我們將舉行埃德加?赫爾南德茲雕像的落成儀式，我們模仿比利時布魯塞爾的‘撒尿小童’豎立了這座雕像，因為他們都‘功勛卓著’。”
關于“撒尿小童”有很多傳說，其中之一是有個兒童在敵軍陣營里撒尿，最終敵軍敗退。
貝爾川稱，赫爾南德茲的這座雕像將被豎立在墨西哥最高的山峰之一Cofre de Perote山上。
據人們猜測，位于一個大型養豬場附近的La Gloria 村莊是甲型H1N1流感病毒的源頭，這引發了媒體對這名男童的關注。
現在仍不清楚病毒源自哪里，美國南部和墨西哥均有首發病例。
聯合國世界衛生組織稱，截至本周一，全球甲型H1N1流感患者已達12515人，91人因此喪生。
墨西哥共有80人死于此次流感，患病人數超過四千人。
相關閱讀
關注甲型H1N1流感
流感入侵 墨西哥人過上虛擬生活
日本學生因流感停課 唱卡拉OK打發時光
美國：創意口罩迎戰流感恐慌
（英語點津 實習生許雅寧編輯） |
