The World Health Organization says it will would stop using the term "swine flu" to avoid confusion over the danger posed by pigs.
WHO spokesman Dick Thompson says the name change comes after the agriculture industry and the UN food agency expressed concerns that the term "swine flu" was misleading consumers and needlessly causing countries to order the slaughter of pigs.
He told reporters in Geneva "we're going to stick with the technical scientific name H1N1 influenza A."
WHO raised the pandemic flu alert to phase 5 today, one step away from the highest level indicating a global outbreak.
WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda said today the UN agency saw nothing yet to prompt it to raise the pandemic alert farther.
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