The company describes its toys as 'great learning tools'. Photo: GIANTmicrobes

A swine flu soft toy has gone on sale on the internet - to help educate and reassure¹ children about the potentially deadly virus.

The stuffed toy has been designed to represent a "cuddlier²" version of an H1N1 microbe, complete with a pig-like nose and eyes.

The 7inch novelty is the latest creation of US-based doll company GIANTmicrobes, which specialises in producing huggable viruses and pests.

The firm's catalogue include soft toy interpretations³ of a range of sexually-transmitted infections including gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia.

It also sells furry⁴ representations of bed bugs⁵, mad cow disease, E.Coli, Ebola and MRSA.

The company describes its toys as "great learning tools, as well as amusing gifts for anyone with a sense of humour". Each purchase comes with an information leaflet with details of the relevant infection.

The swine flu dolls are even for sale in the gift shop at the Atlanta, headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control, the US government agency charged with monitoring the outbreak.

The toy, which is priced at $7.95, is available to British shoppers from the GIANTmicrobes website.

New swine flu cases are falling in Britain, but medics are predicting a second wave of the virus as temperatures fall in the Autumn. The number of UK deaths linked to the virus currently stands at 66.

近日，一款貌似“猪流感（病毒）”的布绒玩具在网上出售，其目的是就这一具有潜在致命性的病毒对儿童进行教育和抚慰。

这款毛绒玩具根据H1N1病菌的模样设计，但它十分可爱，有着猪一样的鼻子和眼睛，让人一看就想摸。

“猪流感”玩具身长7英寸，是总部位于美国的“巨型微生物”玩具公司生产的一款最新产品，该公司主要生产以病毒和害虫为原型的可爱毛绒玩具。

该公司还生产过以各种性传染病毒为原型的毛绒玩具，包括淋病毒、梅毒和衣原体病毒。

此外，他们的产品还包括以臭虫、疯牛病、大肠杆菌、伊波拉病毒和MRSA病毒（译者注：鼻腔中的一种病毒）为原型的玩具。

该公司称其所生产的玩具为“很好的学习工具，而且可作为奇趣礼物送给有幽默感的人”。每购买一个玩具就可得到一本与之相关的传染病的信息手册。

这款猪流感玩具现在在亚特兰大的礼品店都可买到。亚特兰大是美国疾病控制中心的总部所在地。这一政府机构专门负责监控猪流感疫情的爆发。

猪流感毛绒玩具每个售价7.95美元，英国民众可登陆“巨型微生物”公司的网站购买。

近来英国的猪流感新增病例数呈下降趋势，但据医学专家预计，随着秋季到来，气温下降，可能会出现第二轮病毒爆发。目前英国共有66人死于猪流感。

Vocabulary:

soft toy:毛绒玩具

cuddly: inviting cuddling or hugging 令人想拥抱的；逗人喜爱的

novelty: something new and unusual 新颖的事物