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Occupied Jerusalem: The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed "Mexican" influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, said an Israeli health official n Monday.

The reference to pigs is offensive to both religions and "we should call this Mexican flu and not swine flu", Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman told a news conference at a hospital in central Israel.

Both Judaism and Islam consider pigs unclean and forbid the eating of pork products.

Scientists are unsure where the new swine flu virus originally emerged, though it was identified first in the United States. They say there is nothing about the virus that makes it "Mexican" and worry such a label would be stigmatising. Two Israelis who recently visited Mexico have been hospitalised with symptoms of the flu.


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Health authorities have not yet confirmed whether they actually have the virus. The symptoms of H1N1 swine flu are similar to many other flu types.

http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Middle_E ... 08386.html

Oh give me a break. Just because pigs are unclean and taboo in some religions doesn't mean that you can't accurately name a virus because of it. If the bloody virus originated in swine, then you must call it swine flu. The flu has been identified before this outbreak and is certainly not "Mexican".