NetSujit World

Recently all over India, a shocking news was spreading out about Swine Flu being the new disastourous virus or whatever in the air after the bird flu episodes have been over. Thanks to the great indian media, they helped everyone to know that swine flu spreads from pig.

Two-three days later international news agencies were saying that swine flu is not something releated with pigs at all. Soon, World Health Organization (WHO) learned that there’s some confusion going on in the world in regards with swine flu bcoz of its name. Later WHO officially published a info all over the world that swine flu has nothing to do with pigs and they are changing the name of flu to something else called H1N1.

Well, here the game starts. Absurd ppl like me started enjoying this name game. All over the internet competitions and contests were going on like ‘name the flu’ and win prizes.

Ignore for a moment the question of whether swine flu is a fearsome plague or a mild annoyance, and let’s move on to a more pressing matter: What should it be called?  Scientists are carrying on a heated discussion about whether it’s correct to name the H1N1 virus after pigs, given that it also has genetic material from bird and human viruses too. Accuracy first.

Meanwhile, thanks to the reported suggestion of a World Health Organization spokeswoman — who encouraged the public to come up with a better name for the sickness, Twitter users are trying to solve the problem in their own way. Led by actor Rainn Wilson, the online peanut gallery is engaged in a boisterous game of “Name that Flu” (#namethatflu). The object is not to find the most precise name, but the most ridiculous.

Here are a few examples:

- Hamthrax
- Aporkalypse
- Hypefluenza
- Sowmonella
- Global Hamdemic
- Epigdemic
- I was thinking Jonothan [sic], or maybe Greg. If it’s a girl, then Erin or Amelia
- Hamageddon
- Baconsumption (obs.)
- Wilburculosis
- Smallporx

Mass hysteria has become … hysterical.

Corrected: Thanks to readers for pointing out that virus’s genetic material is made of RNA rather than DNA, and that National Public Radio(US),  originated the name game.