Vilsack Attempts to Encourage Media Use of “H1N1”

September 16, 2009 — 

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack called a news conference last week to remind media outlets that the continued use of the misnomer "swine flu" to describe the H1N1 virus is inaccurate and contributing to continued harm to the swine industry.

Vilsack reminded reporters that they have an obligation to accurately inform the public and not contribute to misleading and inaccurate characterizations simply because it is convenient. He also tried to impress on the media the impact of the messages they convey reminding them that hard-working farmers and their families are adversely affected by the misleading information promulgated by media outlets.

The effectiveness of Vilsack's message appears questionable, however. Multiple prominent media outlets have continued using the "swine flu" misnomer some citing the fact that government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to use the same terminology on their website. Officials at CDC responded when questioned about the continued use of misleading terminology that the public recognized the virus by that name and that changing to the more appropriate nomenclature would be confusing.

In other H1N1 related activities, the USDA indicated that they would likely purchase additional pork products after Oct. 1 which marks the beginning of the 2010 fiscal year. This is in addition to the $30 million of pork the agency purchased for food and nutrition programs earlier this month. The agency also noted that they fully expect H1N1 to be discovered in the U.S. swine herd but stressed that it should be a non-event and that pork products would remain safe to eat.

The USDA has released a master seed virus to 5 influenza vaccine manufacturers to speed vaccine development for use in swine herds should it become necessary.