Swine Flu update

Mexico City is apparently the epicenter of a new viral epidemic. What began as something fairly local and contained has now spread to the following Mexican states: México, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, Chihuahua, San Luis Potosí and, of course, Mexico City proper. Reports had come in previously of cases in California and Texas, and now new cases are being reported in Kansas City and New York. Apparently, one man who greeted President Obama died one day later of flu-like symptoms. You can check that out by clicking HERE.

School has been canceled through May 6 in the states mentioned above. That's a whole week and a half of no school. Soccer games were played behind closed doors in some cities today; that is, even though in one case the game was sold out, no spectators were allowed in the stadium. Museums are closed. Messenger service employees (like DLH and FedEx) are being instructed to wear surgical face masks and to avoid all physical contact. The army is handing out masks at subway and bus stations.

The Internet, of course, gives us enough knowledge to be dangerous, right? So take all this with a grain of salt. But a little research tells me that this type of virus is fatal between 2.5 and 10% of the time. So far, 81 deaths have been reported in Mexico, and a total of 1323 people have been diagnosed (or at least suspected to have) with the virus. You can do the math. That's about a 6% mortality rate. What's scary is how fast it is spreading.

I spoke to good friend Toño Muñoz earlier today. The church where he pastors, Tlalpan Bible Church, is within a stone's throw of one of the main hospitals for respiratory diseases in the country. He knows that so far, 4 doctors and 30 people (at least) have died from this virus in the last several days. I speaking with another missionary, Jo Ann Smith, she was also told by a lady in their church that 3 people have recently died in Ecatepec. Another alarming characteristic to this flu virus: it is striking healthy adults; primarily people between 18 and 45 years old.

Toño is canceling services tomorrow. So is the Baptist church in the Coacalco area (northern Mexico City metro area) where my mother-in-law and sister-in-law attend. At this point we're going ahead with a shortened service tomorrow.

What's a Christian perspective on all of this? Well, first of all, we already all have the deadly sin virus. We are all going to die. Interesting how much more we all think of this fact when we realize that the process could be accelerated from 10-50 years to 10-50 days! Finally, pray for a spiritual revival here because of this. People are realizing they are mortal, fragile beings. Pray that people would be more open and eager to hear some very Good News.