a respiratory disease of pigs caused by a swine influenza virus, characterized by influenza-like symptoms such as chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort
2. medicine
the strain of this disease that can be passed to humans; it is occasionally fatal, esp in people who have a pre-existing medical condition
The 2009 flu pandemic is a global outbreak of a new strain of H1N1 influenza virus,often referred to colloquially as 'swine flu'.
swine flu in American English
a virulent, highly contagious influenza infecting people and swine