swine flu

[ swahyn floo ]

noun

, Pathology.

1. a form of influenza that afflicts pigs.
2. a form of influenza that afflicts humans by infection with a virus once thought to be very similar to the influenza virus found in North American pigs.

swine flu

/ swīn /

1. A highly contagious form of influenza seen in swine, caused by a virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae. The infection is communicable to humans and caused a worldwide epidemic in 1918.

Word History and Origins

Origin of swine flu¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Nuzzo said there are other hypotheses — which she stressed are just hypotheses — including one that posits people who were exposed to the H1N1 swine flu outbreak in 2009 may have acquired some immunity to the “N1” part of the virus.

From Los Angeles Times

The initial cause of it can be traced back to 2009 and the swine flu pandemic.

From BBC

In a message to No 10 communications director Lee Cain, he said Mr Johnson "doesn't think it's a big deal" and "it'll be like swine flu", another virus which spread across the world in 2009, killing more than 450 people in the UK but not prompting a major public health crisis.

From BBC

The 2009 swine flu strain arose from the recombination of several strains over years to become more transmissible in humans.

From Salon

He offered conditional amnesty to Vietnam War draft dodgers, created special education, refused a federal bailout of New York City, oversaw a clumsy nationwide swine flu vaccination, fought for the doomed Equal Rights Amendment, appointed John Paul Stevens to the Supreme Court, bailed on Vietnam—declaring the war was over “as far as America is concerned”—and then watched Saigon fall, and froze Israel out of any U.S. weapons agreements for six months.

From Slate