With more than 100 Mexicans succumbing to the deadly H1N1 virus in less than a week and cases found as far as Canada, US, Spain and New Zealand, conspiracy theorists now suspect that the new Mexican Swine Flu is not a naturally-occurring event but a genetically-engineered virus.
Such fears have gained momentum as WHO scientists said that the virus combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before. “We are very, very concerned,” WHO spokesman Thomas Abraham said. “We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human,” he said. John Brennan, White House homeland-security adviser, however, said on Sunday that there is “no evidence whatsoever” of bio-terrorism.
Conspiracy theorists say Mexico seems like an ideal ‘distribution point’ for terrorists as there are less safeguards there than in US. And it would also be very easy for the virus to make its way from Mexico to US, the primary target for terrorists.
Others say the outbreak ‘attack’ was timed for US president Barack Obama’s visit to Mexico. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said “the president’s health was never in any danger,” when asked about reports that Obama’s host on a museum tour in Mexico City died the next day, and had flu-like symptoms. Asked if the president’s decision to golf at Andrews Air Force Base on Sunday was part of a strategy to reassure people, Gibbs chuckled: “I’m not sure I’d draw a direct conclusion.”
