| | |  Health & Beauty | April 2009 
Swine Flu Gets a New Name
 The News
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| | Subway riders in Mexico City wear surgical masks to avoid catching the flu. (Marco Ugarte/AP) | |
Bowing to pressure from pork industry groups as well as scientists disputing the link between pigs and the so-called swine flu, the World Health Organization, or WHO, on Thursday announced that the strain of flu technically known as H1N1 would now be referred to as Influenza A (H1N1).
Since the outbreak was confirmed, various groups have tried to have the name changed. Scientists and researchers, particularly in the United States, cited the lack of a direct link between pigs (or more specifically, eating pork) and this strain of flu as a reason to rename it.
The strain is a mix of pig, human and bird viruses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, or CDC.
Israel´s Health Minister also asked earlier this week that the "swine" element be removed from the name, as such a connotation offended both Jewish and Muslim sensibilities. He suggested calling it the "Mexican flu," which ruffled some feathers of Mexicans, who didn´t want to the flu forever associated with their nation. (The 1918 Spanish flu has long been a source of discontent among Spaniards, given that experts agree it probably didn´t start there.)
In the United States, some anti-immigration activists have been referring to Influenza A as "the Mexican killer flu," and other similarly sinister names, much to the chagrin of their pro-immigration counterparts and Hispanic community groups. |
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