Naming a virus: COVID-19
What’s in a name? In the poetic words of William Shakespeare, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. Perhaps the same cannot be said for a disease – one that has spread extraordinarily quickly in less than two months and claimed more than 2000 lives.
In the beginning, COVID-19 was known simply as the ‘2019 novel coronavirus’, or '2019-nCoV' for short. However, many unofficially called it 'Wuhan virus', after the city that the virus first appeared in – Wuhan of Hubei province, China.
The Problem with Place Names
On 11 February, the World Health Organisation (WHO) formally declared the new name COVID-19, taking care not to reference the city or country that the coronavirus originated in.
This is also per their 2015 guidelines, which state that new disease names should aim to reduce the impact on 'trade, travel, tourism, or animal welfare', as well as avoid causing offence.
In other words, while saying “Wuhan virus” might seem easier, it directly implicates Wuhan -- a big no-no, as it feeds into the cycle of stigmatisation that Wuhan, China, and broadly, East Asia, face. This not only has implications for Asia's economy, but also fans the flames of prejudice.
Indeed, the coronavirus outbreak has triggered a flood of xenophobic and racist vitriol so prolific that it even has its own Wikipedia page. In one brutal instance, a Thai person in London was robbed and physically assaulted by youth who shouted "Coronavirus!" at him.
Other Examples from History
"Wuhan virus" is far from the first disease name that has created a negative effect on the place/animal/thing associated with it.
Just eleven years ago, there was a similarly novel flu outbreak, now known as H1N1. H1N1 was colloquially known as "swine flu" in many countries, reported as "Mexican flu" in the Netherlands, and almost known as "Mexican virus" in Israel.
Its pig-related name ("swine flu") caused huge losses for the pig farming industry, as consumers avoided pork for fear of contracting the disease from eating the meat. Mass culling over the world occurred in a misguided panic to prevent the oubreak from spreading.
On the other hand, the attempt to use "Mexican virus" in Israel was complained about by the Mexican ambassador to Israel, who said that the name was offensive.
Something to consider…
- Can you think of some other place-related disease names? Have they caused any negative effects?
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers), Spanish Flu, Ebola (named after the Ebola river), Zika (named after the Zika forest) are a few of such examples. - Did you adopt the term "Wuhan virus"? Would you continue using it?
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