Brazil pork firms fear "Mexican flu" fallout

SAO PAULO, April 28 (Reuters) - Brazil's pork industry has asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to stop referring to the deadly flu outbreak from Mexico as "swine flu" as the name is damaging the pork industry without any scientific grounds.

The name "swine flu" propagated fears that infection could occur through contact or consumption of pork meat and caused Russia and China to announce they would stop importing the meat from countries where cases have been confirmed.

Pedro de Camargo Neto, chairman of the Brazilian Industry Association of Pork Meat Production and Exports, adopted the term "Mexican flu" and wrote to the WHO's director general, Margaret Chan, asking her to put an end to the misnomer.

"Swine are not infected and are not the vector of the disease. There is not one pig identified in Mexico (as infected with the strain)," he told Reuters.

He said the name was a "grievous error" committed by scientists who failed to make clear the distinction that the disease was similar but not identical to swine flu, which has genetic components from common influenza in pigs, humans and birds.

Concern that the influenza would cause consumers to eat less pork pushed the share price of JBS (JBSS3.SA), one of the world's largest meat producers, down over 12 percent at 6.10 reais ($2.78) on Monday, its lowest level in six months.

Shares closed up 2 percent at 6.23 on Tuesday.

JBS, which controls pork production units in various countries including North America, said in statement earlier on Tuesday that it did not expect the swine flu in North America to affect its growth in revenues as pork exports are only a small part of its largely beef-dominated operations.

Camargo Neto sent a letter on Thursday to Chan at WHO headquarters in Geneva asking that the WHO change the name of the flu.

He said it was too early to tell if fears surrounding the disease had put Brazilian consumers off consuming pork but he said the industry was "worried" about the damage that myths over pork consumption and flu could cause.

"The misinformation comes from the name. That is why we call it Mexican flu," he said, adding the issue distracted people from focusing on the person-to-person infection through which it has spread.

The U.S. Farm Bureau Federation has called for the disease to be renamed North American influenza "in keeping with a long standing medical tradition of naming influenza pandemics (after) the regions where they were identified.

It also suggested "hybrid influenza" as an alternative. (Reporting by Peter Murphy; editing by Reese Ewing)