MORE "SWINE FLU" NEWS

ONE OF OBAMA'S STAFFERS GOT SWINE FLU DURING HIS TRIP TO MEXICO . . . AND BIDEN IS SCARED TO TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:

Yesterday, the White House announced that during PRESIDENT OBAMA'S trip to Mexico earlier this month, one of his staffers . . . an unidentified security aide for Energy Secretary Steven Chu . . . contracted SWINE FLU.

According to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, the security aide didn't fly on Air Force One or work closely with Obama while in Mexico . . . and, quote, "The president has not experienced any symptoms [of swine flu]."

Interestingly, on Monday, Gibbs said that NO ONE traveling with Obama in Mexico, "in either governmental or press capacity has shown any symptoms that would denote cause for any concern." According to the White House, the aide's wife, son and nephew have all tested "probable" for swine flu as well.

Meanwhile, Gibbs pulled double duty yesterday covering for Vice President JOE BIDEN after he put his foot in his mouth . . . yet again . . . by telling MATT LAUER on the "Today" show: "I would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. It's not that it's going to Mexico. It's [that] you're in a confined aircraft. When one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft. That's me . . . "So, from my perspective, what it relates to is mitigation. If you're out in the middle of a field when someone sneezes, that's one thing. If you're in a closed aircraft or closed container or closed car or closed classroom, it's a different thing."

Translated into English, that means Biden wouldn't go ANYWHERE on a plane, train or subway right now . . . because of the risk of swine flu infection. --About an hour later, Biden released a statement backing down from what he said, explaining that all he really meant was that if people are SICK . . . they should avoid airplanes and trains (--even though that's clearly NOT what he said).

Gibbs says, "Obviously, if anybody was unduly alarmed for whatever reason, we would apologize for that. And I hope that my remarks . . . have appropriately cleared up what [Biden] meant to say." (Politico) (--Check out Biden's entire interview with Matt Lauer on the "Today" show below. The quote in question starts at 2:36 . . .)

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SWINE FLU HAS A NEW NAME . . . "H1N1":


Now it's time for your daily SWINE FLU update . . . Yesterday, the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and several other government agencies announced that they'll stop using the term "swine flu" . . . and instead refer to it as "H1N1" or "H1N1 Influenza-A".

Why? -Because people are terrified they're going to get H1N1 if they eat tainted pig meat . . . and the pork industry is getting absolutely MURDERED right now. But listen to this . . .

#1.) Swine flu is a contagious respiratory disease that pigs get all the time. But this current strain is a NEW form of the H1N1 virus . . . which is a mix of both the swine and human versions. In other words, it's not really swine flu, so calling it "H1N1" is actually more accurate.

#2.) It hasn't even been determined that pigs caused this outbreak. --According to a professor who studies swine diseases at the University of Minnesota, the name "swine flu" was, quote, "an unfortunate name for everybody involved in swine production [for] implying that the pigs were the source of this current outbreak."--The truth is we just don't know.

#3.) And, just so we're clear, according to a statement from the WHO, H1N1, quote, "has NOT been shown to be transmissible to people through eating properly handled and prepared pork or other products derived from pigs."--I repeat: You CANNOT get H1N1 by eating pork. (CNN)