Mexican town to erect statue to swine flu victim

Mon May 25, 2009 4:55 PM EDT

VERACRUZ — A Mexican sculptor is putting the finishing touches on a bronze statue of a 5-year-old boy who became Mexico's earliest confirmed case of swine flu.

Veracruz state spokesman Jorge Brandy says the statue of Edgar Hernandez will be erected in the central park of La Gloria, a pig-farming village in the mountains where scientists trying to learn where the epidemic began are taking blood samples from residents and pigs.

Brandy says the statue of Hernandez, who recovered from the illness after taking antibiotics, is meant to serve as a symbol of hope.

The outbreak has killed more than 90 people worldwide but Mexican health officials say a nationwide shutdown of businesses and schools has helped Mexico to control its spread.