April 29, 2009 02:04 AM UTC

The Scary Virus Formerly Known as "Swine Flu?"

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• by: Colorado Pols

It’s a little late for this, fellas, but as The Associated Press reports:

American agriculture officials want to change the name for the virus that’s broken out in Mexico and the U.S. from “swine flu” to something else.

The problem, they say, is that the name “swine flu” suggests a problem with pork products. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack points out that the virus is not food-borne and has nothing to do with consuming pork products.

Vilsack says he’s concerned that misunderstandings could have a negative impact on farmers who provide pork products to consumers around the world.

Now here’s a real opportunity to make lemonade from lemons, or bacon from a pig: Have a cool naming contest! What better way to get the word out about swine flu than coming up with a new name while also educating people about the dangers of the virus that now has no name?

We’ll take suggestions below and most likely not pass them along to the Department of Agriculture. But we might have a cool poll if we get enough suggestions.