Napolitano, Vilsack: call it the "H1N1 virus", not "swine flu". More concerned about pork industry than public safety

Janet Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security and Tom Vilsack of the Department of Agriculture want us to call swine flu the "H1N1 virus" instead (link). They have somewhat of a point: if you really can't get it from eating pork then perhaps we should grit our teeth and not wish for the demise of the pork industry. The problem is that while they're rushing to the aid of pork producers, they're keeping the borders as open as ever.

Per Vilsack:

"This is not a food-borne illness, virus. It is not correct to refer to it as swine flu because really that's not what this is about."

Per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acting director Richard Besser:

"That's not helpful to pork producers. That's not helpful to people who eat pork. It's not helpful to people who are wondering, how can they get this infection,"

Israel wants to call it the "Mexico flu". Another group wants to call it the "North American flu". We'll call it the swine flu.

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 16:06 · · Importance: 4


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