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Source: https://www.wuwm.com/post/what-call-new-coronavirus-some-cautionary-tales#stream/0
What to call this new coronavirus? Some cautionary tales.
By Elana Gordon • 2 minutes ago
As a new kind of coronavirus grips China and makes its way to other parts of the world, scientists and the public alike are referring to it in different ways.
Naming a new infectious disease in humans can be tricky and contentious. Negative associations with a virus name can result in far-reaching implications on the social, cultural and economic fabric of a nation or community.
Currently, scientific groups, as well as the World Health Organization, are deliberating on the matter.
Around China, “Wuhan Pneumonia” or 武汉肺炎 has become a go-to shorthand. “Wu Flu” has also taken off on social media.
In the scientific community, "2019 novel coronavirus” — abbreviated as "2019-nCoV” — appears to be the dominant choice in name. That is how it was recently referenced in The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine.
Complicating matters, the full genome sequence of this new virus has been referred to as “Wuhan seafood market pneumonia virus,” and “Wuhan-Hu-1” in the open-access sequence database, GenBank.
Naming can get even more technical: Another database, GISAID, follows a convention that includes the location where a virus strain was found, its isolate designation (the unique genetic property of a particular virus) and the year it was identified.
So, what to formally call it?...
What to call this new coronavirus? Some cautionary tales.
By Elana Gordon • 2 minutes ago
As a new kind of coronavirus grips China and makes its way to other parts of the world, scientists and the public alike are referring to it in different ways.
Naming a new infectious disease in humans can be tricky and contentious. Negative associations with a virus name can result in far-reaching implications on the social, cultural and economic fabric of a nation or community.
Currently, scientific groups, as well as the World Health Organization, are deliberating on the matter.
Around China, “Wuhan Pneumonia” or 武汉肺炎 has become a go-to shorthand. “Wu Flu” has also taken off on social media.
In the scientific community, "2019 novel coronavirus” — abbreviated as "2019-nCoV” — appears to be the dominant choice in name. That is how it was recently referenced in The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine.
Complicating matters, the full genome sequence of this new virus has been referred to as “Wuhan seafood market pneumonia virus,” and “Wuhan-Hu-1” in the open-access sequence database, GenBank.
Naming can get even more technical: Another database, GISAID, follows a convention that includes the location where a virus strain was found, its isolate designation (the unique genetic property of a particular virus) and the year it was identified.
So, what to formally call it?...