swine flu

noun

: swine influenza

also : influenza A of humans that is caused by a different strain of an orthomyxovirus subtype (H1N1) from those found in swine and that is marked especially by fever, sore throat, cough, chills, body aches, fatigue, and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting

Examples of swine flu in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Truth be told, things were bananas even before the pandemic: just think of the Great Recession, the 2009 swine flu pandemic, and Brexit. —Marianne Cooper, Scientific American, 18 June 2024

Before it was wiped off the map by a competing H1N1 strain behind the swine flu pandemic that swept the world in 2009, health authorities from Europe to Japan had reported seeing surges of a H1N1 strain that was resistant to oseltamivir in 2007 and 2008. —Alexander Tin, CBS News, 12 June 2024

In 2009, cases of swine flu caused the U.S. to declare a public health emergency. —Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 26 Apr. 2024

The Company is also developing drugs against a number of viral diseases including oral and genital Herpes, viral diseases of the eye including EKC and herpes keratitis, H1N1 swine flu, H5N1 bird flu, seasonal Influenza, HIV, Hepatitis C, Rabies, Dengue fever, and Ebola virus, among others. —Miami Herald, 4 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

swine flu

noun

: swine influenza

also : influenza of humans that is caused by a subtype (H1N1) of an orthomyxovirus (species Influenza A virus of the genus Influenzavirus A) originating in swine and is marked especially by fever, sore throat, cough, chills, body aches, fatigue, and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting

Among the swine flu cases in the United States, none had had any contact with pigs …

—Marc Lacey and Donald G. McNeil Jr., The New York Times

As swine flu spreads from person to person around the world, it is most often being transmitted by coughing or sneezing …

—Laura Landro, The Wall Street Journal