Obama Security Agent Positive for Swine Flu

Each day I ask that we pray for this president and this Administration for many of the obvious reasons, however we never know just how close we often come to danger until we are saved from its clutches and learn of it later.

It was released just moments ago that an Energy Department employee who was part of the security advance team for President Obama's recent trip to Mexico is suspected of having contracted the swine flu virus and transmitting it to his family in Anne Arundel County, the White House said today.

The man is on the staff of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who traveled with Obama to Mexico on April 16. He is believed to have transmitted the highly contagious virus to his wife, son and nephew, press secretary Robert Gibbs said. The woman and young boys appear to be the three Anne Arundel County residents who, official said yesterday, have tested positive as "probable" victims of the virus.

Neither the president nor Chu experienced any symptoms of the virus, Gibbs said, and White House doctors do not think Obama should be tested. The security staffer "was asked specifically if he ever came within six feet of the president, and the answer was 'no,' " Gibbs said at a news briefing. I admonish you to stay fervent in your prayers for our leadership and those who come in contact with them. This is serious stuff! What the security can't do, our God can.

In the Anne Arundel community of Severna Park, news of the White House connection to the virus spread quickly this morning among parents at Folger McKinsey Elementary, where the security staffer's children attend school. The wife of the staffer reportedly posted a Facebook account of how her family fell ill, parents who had seen the account said.

Gibbs said the man, whose name was not released by the White House, traveled to Mexico City on April 13 as part of Chu's security advance team. He began feeling ill April 16, the day Obama arrived in the Mexican capital for an overnight visit. The staffer developed a fever on April 17, but felt better by the next day, Gibbs said, and returned to the United States April 18.
Over the next several days, the man's is believed to have passed the virus to his wife, son and nephew. Officials said the man and his family never displayed more than mild symptoms and all have recovered.

Keep it up gang!