The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed "Mexican" influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, said an Israeli health official Monday. Speaking at a news conference at a hospital in central Israel, Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman said the reference to pigs is offensive to both religions.

Scientists are unsure where the new swine flu virus originally emerged, though it was identified first in the United States. They say there is nothing about the virus that makes it "Mexican" and worry such a label would be stigmatizing. Two Israelis who recently visited Mexico have been hospitalized with confirmed cases of the flu.