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:

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