When a new contagious infectious disease emerges, there's a sense of urgency to name it so that the scientific community can refer to it while studying it. During the early stages, however, there are a lot of unknowns such as the nature of the disease and its origin, which are barriers to seeing the whole picture. Historically, new diseases have been named after geographic locations, specific people's names, and specific animals or food.
Naming After Geographic Locations
The H1N1 influenza virus with genes of avian origin that caused the 1918 influenza pandemic was named the Spanish Flu even though there is no universal consensus on where the virus originated. It is commonly believed that reporting infectious diseases were censored during World War I. Spain, which remained neutral throughout the war, was less likely to censor reporting of new cases. As a result, it was falsely believed that the virus originated from Spain.
Rift Valley fever (RVF), which was first identified in 1931 on a farm in the Rift Valley of Kenya, is a viral disease affecting livestock and humans who come in contact with blood or organs of infected animals. While outbreaks are reported in sub-Saharan Africa, they also occur in Egypt and Saudi Arabia (and a few other countries around this region).
The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), first identified in humans in Saudi Arabia and Jordan in 2012, is a respiratory virus that can cause severe pneumonia and multiorgan failure. Several outbreaks of human-to-human transmission have occurred outside of the Middle East, including a large outbreak in South Korea in 2015.
Ebola virus disease, a viral hemorrhagic fever of humans and other primates, was first identified in 1976. It is named after the Ebola River in central Africa. There have been over 20 known outbreaks of Ebola disease in sub-Saharan Africa, including the massive outbreak in West Africa between 2013 and 2016.
Naming After Specific People
Chagas disease, a vector-borne disease (via triatomine or "kissing" bugs) caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, was first formally described by Carlos Chagas in 1909. It is limited to areas of North America, Central America, and South America.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, rapidly progressive fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by a prion, which was first described by German neurologist Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt in 1920. There is no effective treatment for this disease.
Naming After Specific Animal or Food
Monkeypox, caused by the monkeypox virus, was first reported by Preben von Magnus in 1958. It is an infection that can occur in some animals including humans and it is very similar to smallpox. While the reservoir remains unknown, monkeys and humans are incidental hosts.
In 2009, an influenza A (H1N1) virus containing a unique combination of genes from swine lineages was identified in humans. During the pandemic, it was referred to as "swine flu" in the media, although it was officially called influenza A H1N1pdm09. There is a vaccine available.
WHO Guidelines
In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued guidelines for best practices for naming new human infectious diseases. They stipulated that the naming of new diseases should not make reference to geographic places, specific people, and specific animals or food. Other terms that should be avoided in disease names include cultural, population, industry or occupational references, and terms that incite undue fear. Instead, a disease name should include a generic description of the symptoms caused by the disease combined with more descriptive terms when robust information is available. The pathogen that causes the disease, if known, should be part of the disease name.
The novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. On February 11, 2020, the WHO officially named the disease caused by this virus coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In accordance with the naming guidelines, it is important to avoid referring to it as the "Chinese virus," as such naming may lead to xenophobia and racism. Its rapid super-spreading globally has led to an ongoing pandemic. There is currently no proven pharmacologic treatment for this disease.
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