The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on February 13th that the disease referred to by many names including ‘Wuhan Coronavirus’ will be referred to as COVID-19.  It is emphasized that this is the assigned name for the disease characterized by upper respiratory and pulmonary involvement.  The initial name for the virus responsible for COVID-19 was 2019-nCoV. This signified a novel coronavirus emerging in 2019. 

The Coronavirus Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses elected to name the virus SARS-Cov-2 or in full ‘Respiratory Syndrome-Related Coronavirus 2’.  This is probably justifiable based on taxonomic criteria but is an inappropriate choice. Although 2019-nCov is related to the SARS-CoV that emerged in 2003, the epidemiology of the infection is quite different.

Dr. Mike Osterholm, Director of the Centers for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota says he will not use the designation SARS-Cov2. The name for the virus has also been criticized by scientists and epidemiologists in China.  Osterholm added “I find the entire naming situation unfortunate as there was clearly little to no coordination even though the Justus Liebig University and the WHO knew that both groups were working on nomenclature.”

Osterholm added, “our hope is that there will be a reconsideration of the naming of the virus and disease and there will be another effort to reconcile the two so they are more similar and descriptive of what this virus is doing to humans and how it fits into coronavirus virology.”

It is noted that when the coronavirus responsible for MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) emerged in 2012 the WHO and the Coronavirus Study Group agreed on a joint announcement concerning nomenclature.  This precedent was apparently not followed during the past few weeks.