To be honest I don't care whether this new virus is call x or y. What I care is that the problem is controlled and it does not become a cause of death.
Wll the freethinker reports that some are uncomfortable with the term and now had openned a debate over how to call it. They propose, Mexican, Novel or i don't remember what else, but the fact is that the virus is not from Mexico. It was detected in the States and then it came down to Mexico where it supposedly had a deadly effect.
Just yesterday Mexican government said that about 150 persons have died, but today they recognised that out of those only 7 are confirmed to had that swine flu, the rest were suspected and also had other illnesses.
DON'T CALL IT SWINE FLU,...!!!
‘Don’t call it swine flu’ says Israeli health minister
WITH the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico, we were taking bets in the pub last night as to which Islamic country would be the first to demand that the viral condition be renamed so that it would not offend Muslims.
But guess what? No-one thought of Israel.
Today Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman, holding a press conference to update the public on developments regarding the epidemic in Israel, recommended that it be called “Mexican flu” rather than “swine flu”.
According to this report, only two Israelis are believed to have contracted swine Mexican flu. Tomer Vajim, 26, was admitted to the Laniado Hospital in Netanya after returning from Mexico with signs of the viral infection.
A second man who returned from Mexico on Sunday was admitted to the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba and put in isolation after exhibiting suspect symptoms, including fever and coughing.
******THE DEBATE,...
Debate rages over swine flu name
GENEVA (AFP) — Whether it is swine flu, "Mexican", "North American" or "novel", a debate is raging over the name for the type of influenza that is feared to have caused over 150 deaths in Mexico.
Farming and economic lobby groups have objected to the term swine flu, arguing that it could have a disastrous impact on pork sales and pig farmers even though the World Health Organisation has underlined that the virus cannot be caught by eating cooked or "properly handled" meat.
Brazilian pork producers on Tuesday asked the WHO to change the name to "North American flu" or even "Mexican flu" in order to avoid potentially huge losses for farmers and the meat processing industry as frightened consumers desert their produce.
The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) brought the debate to an official level on Monday, arguing that it was "not justified" to call it swine influenza because the virus had not been found in animals so far.
"The avian strain is of American origin, and of the two swine strains, one is American origin and the other appears to be Asian. The human strain is American," said Bernard Vallat, secretary general of the OIE.
"It would be really unfair to penalise pig farmers, who depend on their output for their livelihood, by talking about a risk which is not at all proven," said Vallat.
US officials were pondering the name as they tried to counter embargoes countries have imposed on pig imports from the United States.
"It's important to not refer to swine flu. It's important to convey the message that consuming pork will not cause this illness," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
Richard Besser, director of the US Centers for Disease Control acknowledged that there had been a fair amount of public misconception, adding, "and that's not helpful."
The OIE noted that past epidemics of human influenza epidemics with animal origin had been named after their geographical origin, such as Spanish flu or Asian flu.
But even that can cause difficulties.
Mexico, which is already facing a huge drop in tourism to its coastal resorts as some tour operators call off trips, protested after an Israeli government official suggested an alternative.
"We will use the term Mexican flu in order not to have to pronounce the word swine," Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman of the ultra-religious United Torah Judaism party said on Monday.
His government colleagues later dismissed the suggestion.
Eating of pork is prohibited by Judaism, the religion practised by the majority of Israelis. Islam, adhered to by most of Israel's Arab minority, likewise bans consumption of pork.
EU Commission is calling it "'novel flu virus' just to avoid the misunderstandings with the animal diseases because it costs a lot to the industry," said spokeswoman Nina Papadoulaki.
"In this case we have human-to-human transmission so it is a human virus not an animal disease."
However, the World Health Organization has not budged from "swine flu."
Assistant Director General Keiji Fukuda warned Tuesday that the naming of epidemics "can be very confusing."
"This epidemic started basically with that name and the virus that is identified is a swine influenza virus."
"Right now we do not have any plans to try to introduce any new names for this disease," he told journalists.
The WHO's "Frequently Asked Questions" on the swine influenza family says that "outbreaks in pigs occur year round" while "outbreaks and sporadic human infection with swine influenza have been occasionally reported."
Pigs, it noted, can also be infected with human and avian influenza.
****
And it seems to me that nobody is concern about offending Mexicans by labeling this virus 'Mexican flu',... Since I called Mexican flu before mainly due to my ignorance about the above,.. I appologise to any Mexican that could have felt offended,.. and promise to call it from now on, SWINE FLU,...
