I was so upset to hear about the first death in U.S. due to Swine Flu this morning. My prayers go out to the family who lost their 23-month old son. I kept hoping that somehow the virus had mutated and was less harmful than the cases in Mexico but I guess not. Experts say that it is on the verge of becoming a pandemic.

May God help and protect us...

Schools have closed in several states and since it's arrival in Florida I am thinking about keeping Ace home from school. Maybe I am overreacting a bit but I don't want to take any chances. If I have to pull him from school for a month and not leave the house to prevent catching the virus, I'll do it. I'm not really sure what to do at this point. What are you doing?

I do think they need to close the borders though. Is that possible at this point? Most of the cases, if not all, in the U.S. are due to either Mexican tourists or Americans returning from Mexico. Something serious needs to be done to stop the spread of this virus. Europeans are being advised not to travel to North America. Cases have been found in Canada, Germany, Israel, Spain, Asia and the U.K. Malaysia asked the World Health Organization to bar people who are ill from leaving Mexico, while South Korea, China, Indonesia and the Philippines banned or restricted imports of pork products from North America.

Below are some sites with information on the virus:

Swine Flu FAQ's

Symptoms of Swine Flu

Swine Flu Website

"Heal them, O Lord, from all sickness, deliver them from every impurity, and lighten their spiritual sufferings." ~Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children