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Not Swine Flu or, even worse, Influenza A(H1N1) . Traditionally, we have named flu pandemics for the point of origin. From political correctness pressure, we are avoiding the obvious name, Mexican Flu.
The problem with the name, swine flu, is that there are multiple variants of swine influenza. Worse, web searches for the term will return horror stories from 1976 about flu vaccine. The term also suggests that it's a flu confined to swine. As if to prove the point about the misleading name, Paris Hilton said, "I don't eat that". The pork industry, needless to say, doesn't like this term either.
Like swine flu, the term Influenza A(H1N1) also refers to multiple variants, and it too has worse problem. It's a terrible technical name without the memorability needed for common usage. It also came along far too late, after the swine flu term had been in wide use for weeks.
The proper name would have been Mexican Flu. Even now, everyone would know what that means. There would be no confusion, duplicates, and misleading web search results. But, unfortunately, the powers with the naming authority aren't as interested in clarity as in picking a name that doesn't offend anyone. |
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