To preface this article, I’m not advocating calling it the “Chinese virus.” It most definitely is not its name.
Starting with some basics, viruses typically get names by several criteria but it is also important to know that the name of virus and the disease they cause are different. An example one might be familiar with is HIV vs. AIDS. HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, eventually causes AIDS, acquired Immune deficiency Syndrome.
SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 also operate in the same fashion. SAR-CoV-2 is actually the name of the virus. It stands for ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2’ while COVID-19 is the disease that it causes, or ‘corona virus disease 2019’ (WHO 2020).
Other items that could influence the naming convention is what type of virus (Coronavirus), where it was first identified (Ebola virus), people involved (Lou Gerhig’s Disease—although it is technically ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), what it’s impact (HIV), and the year it was first identified (2019).
While some of these things have been accurate in the past, the World Health Organization, WHO, advises against naming viruses based on their location to prevent the stigma and inevitable association with virus in the public mind (Thuburn, 2020). I would propose the supposition that naming a virus/disease after a person is similarly discouraged.
While Trump has called it “Chinese virus” and many have argued that “Chinese virus” is accurate it is in fact wrong—some might call it racist because of the tone in which it is used. But to put a fine point on it, one, the virus already has an official name. Two, ‘Chinese’ suggests relating to China or its language, culture, or people or suggests that they made/invented it when in fact, quite certainly, epidemiologist have concluded that the coronavirus has its origins in bats (CDC, 2020). And three, assuming the place first discovering the virus is going to be used for the naming, China is the location and more specifically Wuhan.
However, ‘China virus’ is a bit broad. Ebola virus, for example, is named after a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly known as Zaire. Karl Johnson of the CDC and leader of the Ebola research team suggested the be named after the river to ease the emphasis on the village of Yambuku where it originally was discovered (Gholipour, 2014). One might suggest then ‘Wuhan virus’ is more appropriate but there are at least 17 other Wuhan viruses that infect creatures from crickets to mosquitos and are mostly harmless to humans (Gorvett, 2020).
“Chinese virus” is not only politically incompetent, and that has nothing to do with being a ‘snowflake’ (should such a derogatory term be meaningful anyway). “Chinese virus” is simply incorrect and causes unnecessary conflict during a situation where clarity of communication is of upmost importance.
The virus has a name and it is SARS-CoV-2 and the disease is COVID-19. We need not discuss it further.
Accuracy Matters.™
Sources:
Gholipour, Bahar (2014, October 9). How Ebola Got Its Name. Retrieved from
https://www.livescience.com/48234-how-ebola-got-its-name.html
World Health Organization (WHO) (2020, February 11). Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it. Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it
Thuburn, Dario (2020, February 12). WHO Has Finally Named The New Coronavirus. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencealert.com/who-has-finally-named-the-deadly-coronavirus
Gorvett, Zaira (2020, February 16). The Tricky Politics of Naming a New Coronavirus. Retrieved from
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200214-coronavirus-swine-flu-and-sars-how-viruses-get-their-names
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2020, March 17). Situation Summary. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/summary.html
