health

What's in a name? WHO tiptoes around what to call virus

12 Comments
By Dario THUBURN

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12 Comments
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Not-Wuhan/China-Corona-Virus?

A common name should be helpful, descriptive, and follow existing naming conventions.

The scientific name is for use by scientists in that specific field.

The common name has already been selected. Wuhan virus.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

As far as WHO's nomenclature since the outbreak of ""2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease" is concerned, the way the people in Taiwan has been treated was incomprehensible. Taiwan authorities rightly complained as many as three times as of this writing. I am very saddened to hear of the repeated offenses against the island people.

Why does the WHO throw them off when It should concentrate its limited resources in combating the spread of virus. To defray our attention? What a waste of public money, too.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The WHO is in the pocket of China. I believe they will need to check with Xi Jinping before naming the virus. They are going to need to find him first however.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

WURS because it’s worse than SARS?

WUHARS too long?

So, to avoid offending anyone, erm... OURS, coz it’s everyone’s problem now? (Or would that offend us?)

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Nanda - I am offended for all of us.

How about poohvirus?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Karmavirus has a nice ring to it. You reap what you sow and this is what you get when you know the problem is there, you've been called out on it already once before, SARS, and yet you kept going.

Karmavirus doesn't signal out Wuhan or China but anyone who asks years from now will understand why it was called that because it will happen again. Old disgusting habits are hard to break. If you're offend by the truth then I hate to break it to you but the viruses don't care and they're an equal opportunity killer.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Just give them 'given' names like they do for storms.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

cvDaphne, for example, JJ?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The common name has already been selected. Wuhan virus.

The article clearly mentions the current conventions, the name of a place is neither helpful nor descriptive, so you contradict your own reasoning by arbitrarily deciding it shares the name of the place.

In reality the common name has not been decided yet.

The WHO is in the pocket of China. I believe they will need to check with Xi Jinping before naming the virus. They are going to need to find him first however.

Unless you think the chinese predicted from 2015 this outbreak this makes no sense, the guidelines were decided from there, to avoid using the names of people and places to name all diseases, not only infections. It is just not useful and have negative consequences to name things like "Smith's congenital impotence"

WURS because it’s worse than SARS?

WUHARS too long?

So, to avoid offending anyone, erm... OURS, coz it’s everyone’s problem now? (Or would that offend us?)

No, it is worse because it is not useful, the name of the place says absolutely nothing about the pathology or the particular characteristics of a disease, so from 4 years ago the WHO decided to impulse better naming conventions, not only for the people that know things from the TV but for the health professionals that need to have the disease details on mind for their work.

Just give them 'given' names like they do for storms.

How does this would help opposite of having a descriptive name? If somebody say "I got Karen's disease" does it say more to you than "I got transient intestinal flora disruption"?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

A little birdie says the Chinese authorities are calling it “Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia”.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Enough with the PC pussyfooting, everyone knows it originated in Wuhan and that is in China, so either Wuhan virus or China virus. Though as there will probably over the years be more originating in China probably best to stick with what most people not in the media are referring to it as, Wuhan virus.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

This ridiculous walking on egg shells make the WHO look utterly pathetic and idiotic. Of course it should be called the Wuhan virus. Or, better still, the Wuhan killer virus. And if China, or the people of Wuhan in particular, don't like it, guess what: I don't care.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

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