U.S. health and civil rights experts have been quick to counter allegations that undocumented Mexicans are spreading swine flu throughout this country.  The virus is identified as the H1N1 (swine flu) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

   Despite reports from health authorities confirming U.S. swine flu cases have been nearly exclusively from residents who recently traveled to Mexico, right-wing pundits including Glen Beck, Lou Dobbs and Michael Savage continue to play on citizens’ nativist fears.

   As of May 2, the 226 U.S. cases reported in 30 states ranging from New York to California did not include a single one attributed to an undocumented immigrant.

   While anti-immigrant voices have seized the chance to scapegoat Mexican migrants for the potential swine flu pandemic, its noise has come as no surprise to Hispanic leaders here.

   Radio host Savage warned, "Make no mistake about it. Illegal aliens are carriers of the new strain of human/swine/avian flu from Mexico."

   Another radio host, Neal Boortz, asked listeners: "What better way to sneak a virus into this country than give it to Mexicans, right?

   Fox News personality Michelle Malkin told her audience, "I've blogged for years about the spread of contagious diseases from around the world into the U.S. as a result of uncontrolled immigration." 

   Health experts like National Hispanic Health Alliance president Dr. Jane Delgado consider that conservative media are distorting the reality. “They are doing a disservice to their listeners and to the world by not presenting accurate information." 

   Referring to the outbreak at St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, New York, National Hispanic Medical Association president Dr. Elena Ríos censured critics who attributed the spread of the infection to immigrants. "They should pay attention to the facts. These were American citizens who had money to travel to Cancún for spring break."

   Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine confirmed that two reported cases in his state were of residents who separately came down with the disease following trips to Mexico.

   A  U.S. Energy Department security official in Maryland contracted the virus when traveling to Mexico with Secretary Steven Chu last month. He infected his family when he returned. 

   The Libertarian Party and Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) have been among groups responded to the growing number of U.S. cases by demanding much more vigilant border enforcement. "We are calling for all non-essential traffic and illegal immigration to stop," ALIPAC president William Gheen emphasized.

   Blaming the Congress for not moving more decisively and allowing commerce "to take precedence over public health," he urged that thousands of U.S. National Guard troops be brought in to, in effect, close off the border.

   While some media pundits called the virus the "fajita flu," other well known faces like MSNBC host Keith Olbermann called the comments ignorant and racist. Boston radio talk host Jay Severin was taken off the air for characterizing Mexican immigrants as "criminaliens."

   Regardless of the source of the outbreaks, health officials say 35,000 U.S.residents die every year of the seasonal flu and an increase from the H1N1 flu is inevitable.

   (Verónica Macías is a reporter with Hispanic Link News Service in Washington D.C. She can be reached at [email protected])

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