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Eugene

(61,593 posts)
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 01:11 PM Feb 2020

Coronavirus latest: World Health Organisation officially names illness COVID-19

Source: EuroNews

Coronavirus latest: World Health Organisation officially names illness COVID-19

By Lauren Chadwick & Alessio Dell'Anna • last updated: 11/02/2020 - 17:02

The coronavirus that has killed more than 1,000 people has been named COVID-19, which is a revision on the former 2019-nCoV.

Its name was confirmed by the World Health Organisation's Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a daily briefing on the outbreak on Tuesday.

Discussing the reasons for the decision, he said: "We had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people, and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease."

"Having a name matters to prevent the use of other names that can be inaccurate or stigmatising. It also gives us a standard format to use for any future coronavirus outbreaks."


-snip-


Read more: https://www.euronews.com/2020/02/10/coronavirus-outbreak-uk-declares-virus-serious-and-imminent-threat-to-public-health
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Coronavirus latest: World Health Organisation officially names illness COVID-19 (Original Post) Eugene Feb 2020 OP
Tricky... Arboviruses (mosquito and other vector-borne) are traditionally named with location hlthe2b Feb 2020 #1

hlthe2b

(101,716 posts)
1. Tricky... Arboviruses (mosquito and other vector-borne) are traditionally named with location
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 02:13 PM
Feb 2020

indicators. CDC tried to follow suit with the original rodent-borne Hantavirus and named it Muerto Canyon Virus for the location in the Southwest where original outbreak cases originated. Unfortunately naming a virus after a "Death Canyon" was not a good choice when working with Navajo and other Native Americans for whom discussing "death" is simply culturally unacceptable. So, they renamed it "SIN NOMBRE Virus" (no name virus)... A fascinating bit of trivia that underscores the need for sensitivity on these matters.

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