Madam, – As I sit here wrestling with an unidentified flu, I find myself compelled to raise an objection to the name of the pandemic presently sweeping the globe. Swine flu is an unpleasant name. It suggests that those infected will develop cloven hooves, stubby feet and curly tails. I was no less impressed with the name bird flu which implies that sufferers will sprout wings and begin clucking.
Can we not take a leaf from the team who bestow such cuddly names upon those devastating hurricanes and cyclones? It is not without precedent – rubella and pneumonia are pretty enough to be characters in a Jane Austen novel. Even the “Spanish flu” had a touch of romance and elegance about it. But being told you have “swine flu” adds insult to injury. It began in Mexico, so perhaps we could call it the Mexican flu, or choose a sweet Mexican name like Chantico or Carlos Santana or Salma Hayek? If I was told I had Salma Hayek, I would feel better immediately. – Yours,etc,
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