WHO to stop using term 'swine flu' to protect pigs

Friday 01st May, 04:07 AM JST

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13 Comments

grafton at 07:45 AM JST - 1st May

Too late, the idiots have already got the idea locked in their little heads & I can just see the press continuing to say things like “H1N1 influenza A, that was swine flu”, because the press are not the brightest of people either. Should have called it Aztec flu from the outset.
some14some at 07:55 AM JST - 1st May

Too late, one click to Wikipedia will not be troublesome even for a lazy person like me.
Taka313 at 08:21 AM JST - 1st May

The pork industry was pretty adamant about a name change as well.

Taka
JoeBigs at 09:06 AM JST - 1st May

Taka313 at 08:21 AM JST - 1st May The pork industry was pretty adamant about a name change as well. Taka

Good catch.......

Pork industry lobbyist got in there quickly......Wonder how much it cost them to get the name changed....
shinjukuboy at 09:14 AM JST - 1st May

A swine by any other name will smell ....
skipthesong at 10:17 AM JST - 1st May

I have no idea why any one would ever want to eat pork. Give it up and stay healthy. The Pig should hve gone the way of the Dinos a long time ago.

Pork industry lobbyist got in there quickly......Wonder how much it cost them to get the name changed...." That's not a joke. Remember what the beef industry did to Oprah?
Bento at 10:34 AM JST - 1st May

err why would anyone want to eat pork? hmm well for one thing it is a leaner meat than beef and therefore healthier..secondly at the moment you can get some great deals on pork loin at the local supa..there is no risk of contracting flu from the meat just the live pig(if it has the virus)The pig should have gone the way of the dinos? why?..is it your religion that forms your opinion about the meat you eat for you?
smithinjapan at 11:40 AM JST - 1st May

Does anyone actually think they're going to stop calling it 'swine flu' just because the lobbyists want that? What are people going to say when they describe where it comes from? "It originated in a... errr.... a domesticated animal the likes of which comes from the same origin as the boar... but uhhh... the name escapes me right now."
WilliB at 12:16 PM JST - 1st May

Too little, too late. Egypt has already taken the opportunity to destry the lifelyhood of the Coptic pig farmers by ordering destruction of all pigs in the country. Nothing easier for a muslim government than to clamp down on the pig-eating kuffar minority. Wait for Malaysia to do the same.
skipthesong at 12:52 PM JST - 1st May

bento: NO, its not a religion of mine. I gave up meat a long time ago, but it was my dad's idea for us not to eat pork and we hated religion.

I have my reasons why I don't eat red meat or pork. If you ever got a glimpse of me, you'd probably change too. I'm fit, little fat, high energy, the list goes on and on.
likeitis at 03:06 PM JST - 1st May

smithinjapan: Does anyone actually think they're going to stop calling it 'swine flu' just because the lobbyists want that?

Why not? Lobbyists have a lot of power and financial backing. If avian flu was known as chicken flu, that name would have gotten changed quickly as well.

Anyway, anyone remember what they did with avian flu? They culled birds. But I think that was only AFTER one or more birds in the roost got it.

Also, I have to object to this dumbing down of things. Its too bad people are stupid, but pandering to their stupidity will only make them dumber in the long run. The term is swine flu. And if you have not gotten this far in life without knowing better than to assume and take drastic on things you guessed from a mere name, then you are doomed anyway.
teleprompter at 03:11 PM JST - 1st May

smithinjapan:And if you have not gotten this far in life without knowing better than to assume and take drastic on things you guessed from a mere name, then you are doomed anyway.

Article: The policy shift came a day after Egypt began slaughtering thousands of pigs in a misguided effort to prevent swine flu.
likeitis at 11:58 AM JST - 2nd May

teleprompter: Article: The policy shift came a day after Egypt began slaughtering thousands of pigs in a misguided effort to prevent swine flu.

What is your point? Yes, someone might be stupid in the Egyption government. Or, as WilliB says, it might have been used as an excuse to trouble Coptic Christian pig farmers.

Either way, it is believed the virus came from pigs. Changing the name won't change that belief, and this could still happen.