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CE’s column: What’s in a name?

May 2009

The naming of the current novel influenza virus outbreak is causing much discussion in the media and comment by politicians and health agencies around the world. The nickname ‘swine’ flu has been embraced by a global media enthralled with species-jumping science-fiction connotations and snappy headlines. So, what’s in a name? Does it really matter?

I want to reinforce from the outset that the influenza A(H1N1) virus or North American influenza, which has been trumpeted in the headlines lately as so-called ‘swine’ flu, cannot be caught from food. In particular, eating well-cooked pork or pork products that have been handled in accordance with good hygienic practices cannot be a source of influenza infection.

But a name really does matter. The erroneous linking of the virus to a food source through a misnomer may provide an excuse for erecting technical barriers to trade. It is already unfairly affecting overseas farmers of pork and pork products. It is disappointing to see the livelihoods of those involved in this international trade being damaged and even destroyed by actions which have absolutely no scientific justification.

The international convention for human influenza is to name it after the geographic area in which it was first identified. It is likely that the 1918 Spanish influenza did not actually originate in Spain, but because Spanish media were less constrained by wartime censorship, they were the first to widely report it. As a result, the Spanish got lumbered with the name, and therefore responsibility by association.

The media is clearly very influential in the naming of global events such as these. As a science-based organisation we abide by scientific evidence and international naming conventions. That is why we refer to the current outbreak as the influenza A/H1N1 virus or North American influenza. But in the era of the internet and the world wide web NZFSA has also chosen to include the incorrect but widely-used term ‘swine’ flu as an addendum to the technically correct references. This is because human behaviour is such that anyone searching for information about this influenza outbreak is almost certainly going to Google ‘swine flu’. If they do, we want their search to find our website and our science-based messages.

Updated 8 May