Is swine flu's name hogwash?

U.S. officials said Tuesday they may abandon the term "swine flu," for fear it's confusing people into thinking they could catch it from pork and after complaints the term is offensive to some.

"We're discussing, is there a better way to describe this that would not lead to inappropriate actions on people's part?" said Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"In the public, we've been seeing a fair amount of misconception ... and that's not helpful."  

CDC scientists discovered the never-before-seen strain of influenza, a mix of pig, human and bird viruses — and while scientifically it's part of the Type A/H1N1 family of influenza viruses, they shortened the name to new swine flu.

Agriculture Department Secretary Tom Vilsack pushed for a change, saying the American hog industry is sound: there are no known sick U.S. pigs.

"We have no indication that any swine from the United States has been infected," Vilsack said. "We are open for business. We believe that there is no reason to stop or ban pork or pork products from the United States."

'North American influenza' suggested

The Canadian Pork Council, which represents Canada's hog producers, made a similar request.

In a letter to Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, the group's president Jurgen Preugschas said the new virus should be called "North American influenza" — a name already proposed by the World Organization for Animal Health.

U.S. officials rushed to assure people that it's impossible to get pig strains of influenza from food. But by last weekend, China, Russia and Ukraine were banning imports of pork from Mexico and certain U.S. states, and other governments were increasing screening of pork imports.

Then came complaints from abroad about the name. Israeli officials on Monday suggested renaming it Mexican flu, saying the reference to pigs is offensive to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork.

While the biggest outbreak and most serious illness so far is in Mexico, scientists don't yet have proof that's where the virus originated.

Naming flu, in fact, has a problematic history. The infamous 1918 pandemic was first called the Spanish flu, although scientists today all agree it didn't start there. It may have started in Kansas.

What to call the novel swine flu now? CDC's Besser told reporters that the government hasn't decided yet on a possible name change.

But a Department of Homeland Security notice suggested a precise, though dry, scientific option: "The current influenza situation should be referred to as H1N1 flu outbreak."