According to Reuters, Agriculture Department officials want to call "swine flu" the "H1N1 virus." The Israelis are calling it "Mexico flu." And some farmers are inclined to call it "North American flu."
Swine flu when pigs fly!
Glen,
similar to my reaction. Since the virus is a combination of swine and avian varieties, I wanted to check "Signs of the Apocalypse" for any reference to "when pigs fly"! π
Maybe we should name flu outbreaks the same way we name hurricanes? Let's call this "Mexico Flu" Flu Lolita.
But I never heard anyone object to "Spanish Flu" for the 1918 outbreak. Nor any objection to "Hong Kong Flu", I don't remember the year for this one. Neither one of these names was descriptive of the nature of the illness. They just help us remember which outbreak it was. The "official" name the government wants us to use is a bit clumsy IMHO and Swine Flu it will probably remain to most of us. π
Beverly A.