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As the world worries about the new swine flu virus, we’ll talk with the state's epidemiologist about the risks and what the state’s doing to combat them. We'll also look at the "usual" public health threats that come with spring, such as Lyme disease, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, and West Nile Virus.

Guests

• Dr. Jose Montero, Chief Epidemiologist at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

The swine flu outbreak that’s been linked to 103 deaths in Mexico has gone global, with confirmed or suspected cases found in at least seven other countries, including 20 cases here in the U.S. and others in countries ranging from Israel to New Zealand. Meanwhile China, Russia and Taiwan said they would quarantine visitors showing symptoms of the virus.

Health experts say it isn’t yet clear how much of a threat the virus poses. But officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are expected to visit Mexico to investigate the source of the virus. Among the potential sources that officials are eyeing are the hundreds of industrial-scale hog facilities in Mexico, and the thousands of people working in the crowded buildings and processing plants.

To understand how such a virus could evolve and spread in these intensive animal feeding operations, we’re calling upon Dr. Ellen Silbergeld. She’s a professor of environmental health sciences at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. And she was a consultant on a report published last year by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Swine Flu

State of New Hampshire: Swine Flu Fact Sheet (PDF)

Follow the swine flu in real time with Google Maps

(Photo by Sarah Spaulding via Flickr/Creative Commons)

When Rupert Isaacson’s son Rowan was first diagnosed with autism in 2004, he felt like he’d been hit across the face with a baseball bat. The signs were there: lack of interest with others, not sharing or responding, repetitive movements with objects. And at around 18 months old, Rowan began having rageful tantrums - writhing, earsplitting, seemingly demonic tantrums that would last for hours. Rupert and his wife tried everything - vitamins, doctors, therapies - and then one day, Rupert put little Rowan on the back of a horse.

That’s Rupert Isaacson from the film Over the Hills and Far Away, which will be out in September. The film documents the great lengths the family goes to to communicate with little Rowan -even setting out for a month-long trek across the Mongolian steppes in search of a healer.

The story is told by Rupert Isaacson himself in his memoir The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son,and he joins us from the studios of KUT in Austin, Texas.

Watch a trailer for Over the Hills and Far Away:

And we'll hear about the challenges of being a sibling to an autistic child. Erin Davis, who graduated recently from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine, produced "Except Me," the story of Andrew Skillings, an 11-year-old with autism, as told through the eyes of his 15-year-old sister, Marissa. Erin's remarkable production earned her the Best New Producer Award at the 2008 Third Coast International Audio Festival.

You tell us: Do you have an experience with autism? Have you sought healing? Wished for a cure? Or do you believe that autism should be respected as a difference? You can call our listener line at 603-223-2448, or click here to send us an email.

If you thought health care was recession-proof, think again. For the first time in years, nurses are struggling to find jobs.

NHPR health reporter Elaine Grant has the story.