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What's in a Name?
What’s in a name? For humans, our identity. Same for viruses. Throughout history, viruses have cycled through names that have tried to identify them. Although labelling them by their location or origin seems like a good idea, hindsight has revealed negative side effects of this decision. Recently, the World Health Organization has recommended not including places, animals, and people when choosing a new virus name. This has led to clunkers like “SARS-Cov-2,” but will hopefully safeguard against racism and xenophobia down the line.
Written and reported by Brenna Biggs.References:
* Kaur, H. Yes, we long have referred to disease outbreaks by geographic places. Here's why we shouldn't anymore (https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/28/us/disease-outbreaks-coronavirus-naming-trnd/index.html). CNN (2020).
* Doering, C. USDA may help ailing pork industry hit by H1N1 (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-flu-usa-vilsack/usda-may-help-ailing-pork-industry-hit-by-h1n1-idUSTRE5466J420090507http://). Reuters (2009).
* 2009 H1N1 Pandemic (H1N1pdm09 virus) (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/2009-h1n1-pandemic.htmlhttp://). Center for Disease Control (2019).
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By Sandra Tsing Loh
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11 ratings
What’s in a name? For humans, our identity. Same for viruses. Throughout history, viruses have cycled through names that have tried to identify them. Although labelling them by their location or origin seems like a good idea, hindsight has revealed negative side effects of this decision. Recently, the World Health Organization has recommended not including places, animals, and people when choosing a new virus name. This has led to clunkers like “SARS-Cov-2,” but will hopefully safeguard against racism and xenophobia down the line.
Written and reported by Brenna Biggs.References:
* Kaur, H. Yes, we long have referred to disease outbreaks by geographic places. Here's why we shouldn't anymore (https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/28/us/disease-outbreaks-coronavirus-naming-trnd/index.html). CNN (2020).
* Doering, C. USDA may help ailing pork industry hit by H1N1 (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-flu-usa-vilsack/usda-may-help-ailing-pork-industry-hit-by-h1n1-idUSTRE5466J420090507http://). Reuters (2009).
* 2009 H1N1 Pandemic (H1N1pdm09 virus) (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/2009-h1n1-pandemic.htmlhttp://). Center for Disease Control (2019).