# 3295
Swine, Swine, bo-bine
Banana-fana fo-fine
Fee-Fi-mo-mine
Swine!
With apologies to Shirley Ellis
Just about everyone seems to agree that we need a new name for the novel H1N1 virus currently spreading around the globe.
Attempts to get people to call it H1N1 FLU (CDC’s version), or A(H1N1) (WHO’s version) have not gone as well as some officials originally hoped.
The public, and the media, continue to use the term `Swine Flu’, much to the distress of the pork industry. My suggestion, that we call it H1N1 (The Virus formerly Known As `Swine’) unfortunately, never took off.
Frankly, I thought it was a Prince of an Idea.
The problems with the new `official’ names are that first, there’s already a seasonal H1N1 virus, and calling this new virus the same thing that we’ve called another strain that’s been around for 90 years, is just a wee bit ambiguous.
Also, let’s face it, A/H1N1 Influenza doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.
Swine Flu has become a recognizable `brand name’ with the public, and the only thing that might possibly change that is coming up with something even catchier, and easier, to call this virus.
Over the past five weeks I’ve attempted to compromise, and most of the time have resorted to calling this virus the `novel H1N1’ or sometimes H1N1 `swine’ Flu.
Both are awkward, but since I write about seasonal H1N1 as well, I felt I needed some way to differentiate between the two viruses.
No doubt, some committee of scientists will come up with a politically (and hopefully scientifically) correct name for this virus, but if it doesn’t include a `catchy’ generic name, it won’t replace `swine flu’ in popular culture.
Back in the 1980’s, AT&T produced a technologically superior personal computer (I know, I owned one) that failed to catch on. It quickly became an orphan, outpaced by IBM’s offering.
The problem was marketing, as was recounted in the journal Byte.
Years ago, I told the VP of marketing at AT&T that if they bought KFC, they'd end up advertising hot, dead chicken.
He sighed and said, "The worst of it is that we'd probably advertise warm, dead chicken." --- Jerry Pournelle
In public relations terms, A/H1N1 Influenza is `warm, dead, chicken’ (even though it is predominantly a swine, not an avian virus).
The time to have come up with a catchy replacement name was six weeks ago, when this virus first erupted.
Trying to convince the public, and the media, to drop the `swine flu’ appellation at this late date is going to be a very tough sell.
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