(Sept. 2) -- What could be more cuddly than a swine flu-shaped stuffed animal?
Wrap your arms around the fuzzy H1N1 plush toy, a pink, 7-inch version of the dreaded microbe, now on sale at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's gift shop in Atlanta.
Many people would be shocked simply to hear the CDC -- the federal government's front line in fighting deadly outbreaks -- has a gift shop. Before you fire off a letter to your local congressperson, let's be clear: This is a nonprofit venture that CDC employees operate in their spare time.
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Playing With Microbes
Fighting swine flue is hardly child's play, but the gift shop at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is selling a stuffed toy based on the deadly virus. GIANTmicrobes in Stamford, Conn., manufactures an array of plush toys based on deadly diseases.
GIANTmicrobes.com
GIANTmicrobes.com
"The H1N1 doll is a big hit," CDC spokesman Dave Daigle told AOL News. "People will buy it to explain the virus to children. You'll also find other people who just have to have it for whatever reason."
GIANTmicrobes -- a Stamford, Conn.-based company -- sells the novelty microbe, along with other stuffed toys based on gonorrhea, HIV, anthrax, chlamydia and bed bugs.
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"The main thrust is education," said Charles Foster, the company's director of operations and business development. "But there is definitely humor in some of it."
The company maintains a line of products directly for kids, meant to put a less threatening face on stomachaches, sore throats and the common cold. Each stuffed toy comes with a tag that describes the malady, along with fun facts and other kid-friendly stuff.
The professional series is aimed for doctors and members of the medical community, and to be sure, the facts on the HIV plush toy are decidedly less fun, but more informative.
"I have a good friend who works on influenza matters, and he had to have an influenza stuffed toy," said Daigle.
Other big items in the CDC gift shore: disease-themed ties and scarves. Customers seem to agree that even the deadliest microbe can make a very stylish pattern.
