Novel coronavirus

Species

The following viruses could initially be referred to as "novel coronavirus", before being formally named:

All four viruses are part of the Betacoronavirus genus within the coronavirus family.

Etymology

The word "novel" indicates a "new pathogen of a previously known type" (i.e. known family) of virus. Use of the word conforms to best practices for naming new infectious diseases published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015. Historically, diseases have sometimes been named after locations, individuals, or specific species. However, this practice is now explicitly discouraged by the WHO.

The official permanent names for viruses and for diseases are determined by the ICTV and the WHO's ICD, respectively.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei a 2020 study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham found a more than ten-fold increase in use of expressions such as "Chinese virus" or "Wu flu virus" on Twitter compared to before the outbreak. The researchers voiced concerns whether such terminology could hinder public health efforts or be stigmatizing. No such effects were observed in the wake of the MERS outbreaks being referred to as "Camel flu virus" or "Middle East virus".

References

References

1. (2010). "Murray and Nadel's textbook of respiratory medicine.". Saunders Elsevier.
2. (2010). "Infectious Diseases in Critical Care Medicine". Informa Healthcare USA.
3. (2020). "The 2019-2020 Novel Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) Pandemic: A Joint American College of Academic International Medicine-World Academic Council of Emergency Medicine Multidisciplinary COVID-19 Working Group Consensus Paper". Journal of Global Infectious Diseases.
4. This virus is not a distinct [[species]], but rather a [[Strain (biology). strain]] of the species [[Severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus. SARSr-CoV]]
5. (March 2020). "A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin". Nature.
6. (12 January 2020). "Novel Coronavirus – China". World Health Organization.
7. (July 2020). "Possible Bat Origin of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2". Emerging Infectious Diseases.
8. According to [https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en#/U07.1 ICD-10] the disease is referred to as "''2019-new coronavirus acute respiratory disease [temporary name]''". It is not listed in [https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en#/http%3A%2F%2Fid.who.int%2Ficd%2Fentity%2F1251496839 ICD-11].
9. (November 2012). "Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia". The New England Journal of Medicine.
10. (January 2005). "Characterization and complete genome sequence of a novel coronavirus, coronavirus HKU1, from patients with pneumonia". Journal of Virology.
11. (August 2004). "Hematological findings in SARS patients and possible mechanisms (review)". International Journal of Molecular Medicine.
12. (November 2003). "Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 is a functional receptor for the SARS coronavirus". Nature.
13. World Health Organization.. (May 2015). "World Health Organization best practices for the naming of new human infectious diseases.".
14. (May 2020). "Creating COVID-19 Stigma by Referencing the Novel Coronavirus as the "Chinese virus" on Twitter: Quantitative Analysis of Social Media Data". Journal of Medical Internet Research.