[双语阅读]墨西哥将为首例患流感男童建雕像

Mexico to erect statue to swine flu 'patient zero'

 

Picture taken on April 27, 2009 at his home in La Gloria village of five-year-old Mexican child Edgar Hernandez.

 

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.

墨西哥东部某州将仿照布鲁塞尔著名的“撒尿小童”，为该国首例患甲型H1N1流感的男童竖立一座雕像。

自今年四月份卫生部门确认甲型H1N1流感在墨西哥爆发，埃德加•赫尔南德兹感染并痊愈后，这个五岁大的小男孩就抢足了全球媒体的镜头。

墨西哥东部维拉克斯州州长贝尔川（Fidel Herrera Beltran）在上周日接受地方媒体采访时称，赫尔南德兹使自己所在的贫困村落La Gloria“一举成名”，为了见证他的“功劳”，当地将模仿比利时标志性“撒尿小童”为他修建一座小雕像。

“La Gloria现在已经成为一个重要的旅游目的地。下周我们将举行埃德加•赫尔南德兹雕像的落成仪式，我们模仿比利时布鲁塞尔的‘撒尿小童’竖立了这座雕像，因为他们都‘功勋卓著’。”

关于“撒尿小童”有很多传说，其中之一是有个儿童在敌军阵营里撒尿，最终敌军败退。

贝尔川称，赫尔南德兹的这座雕像将被竖立在墨西哥最高的山峰之一Cofre de Perote山上。

据人们猜测，位于一个大型养猪场附近的La Gloria 村庄是甲型H1N1流感病毒的源头，这引发了媒体对这名男童的关注。

现在仍不清楚病毒源自哪里，美国南部和墨西哥均有首发病例。

联合国世界卫生组织称，截至本周一，全球甲型H1N1流感患者已达12515人，91人因此丧生。

墨西哥共有80人死于此次流感，患病人数超过四千人。