H1N1 is not a laughing matter; people are sick and some are dying from this unique virus. The president has signed a document declaring this a national emergency.

Some schools are closed; people are standing in line for hours to get H1N1 vaccines; and, last week, some Halloween candy distribution events were called off - a true sign of a pandemic. But if this is really that serious, why are people so uninformed, what is the media so misinformed, and why has it become the latest butt of jokes? Because that is why we do in America when an issue gets overexposed. It moves from being serious to silly.

H1N1 is quickly headed in that direction, which may allow pork producers to finally repair the damage caused by the “swine flu” association.

For the past several months, the ag industry has been trying to get the media to stop using the term swine flu. This effort has been, for the most part, a failure. Even efforts by USDA, The White House, and several press associations have failed to make a dent in the use of swine flu in stories about H1N1.

So, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Let’s start calling it swine flu, but in a way that removes all the credibility to the term and thus eliminates people’s connection to the swine industry.

There is a website that is selling a verity of products with humorous swine flu sayings on them. T-shirts that read, “Prevent swine flu eat more bacon.” They also sell neckties with photos of pigs wearing surgical masks. The Internet is filled with funny photos, sayings, and stories all making fun of swine flu.

One e-mail message that crossed my desk warmed me to disregard any messages asserting eating canned pork could give you swine flu, it said it was just Spam. There are rumors that a line of special swine flu get well cards is in the works. Perhaps Gary Varvel will do a cartoon showing healthy hogs in a bio-secure confinement facility watching CNN and saying they are glad they are not human so they can’t get swine flu.

We are getting some help from Hollywood as celebrities start saying really stupid things about swine flu. While some celebrities have had serious cases of swine flu, others have used their celebrity knowledge to diagnose themselves. For example, did you know that Lisa Rinna, best known for her roles as Billie Reed on Days of Our Lives, is a doctor? Turns out she’s not, but she does feel qualified to diagnose her whole family with swine flu.

When asked about the swine flu by Entertainment Tonight, Rinna said, “How do you know it’s the swine flu? I don’t know, but we had all the symptoms.” It must be nice having an ex-soap star as a doctor. Lots of TV doctors are talking about the H1N1 virus, but only one can really relate.

CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta wrote in his blog that he and his cameraman picked up a case of swine flu while on a trip to Afghanistan. He said that he rarely ever gets sick but he was hit so hard that he had to seek medical attention at a battlefield hospital. I have done an exhaustive search of the celebrity news wires and can find no reports that Miss Piggy has been struck down by swine flu.

If any of you reading this are stuck in bed suffering from H1N1, you may be justifiably annoyed at my humor. Trust me, I am not making light of your suffering. H1N1 is serious but since H1N1 is not swine flu, then making light of swine flu and the ridiculous hyping it is getting is justified. In fact, if you want to put an end to the association of H1N1 with swine, then buy a silly T-shirt, send a silly e-mail, and tell your friends to prevent swine flu they need to eat more bacon.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.