Yeah, we’re talking about coronavirus. Let’s get into it: The word corona comes from Latin meaning ‘crown’. And virus comes from the Latin word for ‘poison or venom’. So put simply, coronavirus is called coronavirus, because when you look at it under a microscope the virus looks like a crown 1.
A resurgence in the word’s popularity in media has lead to some people to assume the term is ‘corona virus’ (two words) instead of ‘coronavirus’ (one word). But standard nomenclature says that viral families are given a one word name, such as the human papillomavirus, the hipster metavirus and the totally dad-cool retrovirus.
And yeah, you read that right. Coronavirus is an entire family of viruses. Some other coronaviruses include SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) and SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, aka SARS 2 electric boogaloo, aka 2019 novel coronavirus).
What is CoViD-19?
So why have you been hearing about CoViD-19? Well, CoViD-19 is the name of the disease (the condition that makes you feel ill). The actual virus is still called SARS-CoV-2. This is the same way AIDS is the name of the disease, but HIV is the name of the virus.
What does CoViD-19 stand for? Well, on February 11th, 2020, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization, gave a daily press briefing saying this:
“We now have a name for the disease, and it is CoViD-19…. Co- stands for corona. Vi– stands for virus. D for disease. So CoViD. Under agreed guidelines between WHO, the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organisation….we had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease.
Having a name matters to prevent the use of other names that can be inaccurate or stigmatizing. It also gives us a standard format to use for any future coronavirus outbreaks.” 2
As I mentioned in my article on good technical communication, using standardized nomenclature helps us all avoid confusion and make sure we are talking about the same thing. Tedros’s criteria for a good name are actually very smart technical communication. Standardization, pronounceability, relation to the subject and cultural appropriateness are good standards to follow.
Why ‘Chinese Virus’ Doesn’t Make Sense
You may think the last criterion is unnecessary. But the goal of the World Health Organization is to help humans stay healthy. So avoiding terms like ‘China virus’ or ‘Chinese virus’ is a good idea. The term ‘China virus’ leads under-informed people (that is to say, most people) to the conclusion that avoiding people of Chinese descent (or people who just look like they may be of Chinese descent) will somehow keep them healthy. Which, to use the scientific term, is stupid. That is not how viruses work.
Critics may point to the fact that we name other diseases after their country of origin. But this is also false. For example, Spanish flu did not originate in Spain. According to Popular Mechanics:
“The first confirmed outbreak in the United States, if not the world, was at an army base in northeastern Kansas on March 11, 1918.… The soldiers carried the flu with them when they shipped out, introducing the virus to France, England, Germany and Spain.” 3
Similarly, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “The 2009 H1N1 influenza virus (referred to as ‘swine flu’ early on) was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009.”4 And yet, no one called this pandemic ‘the American Flu’.
But if it comes from bats, why can’t we have a bit of fun and name it ‘The Goddamn Bat Flu’? Well, for one, SARS-CoV-2 is not an influenza. So there’s that. But also, while the SARS virus did originate with bats, we can probably see the influence of the World Organization for Animal Health here. During the ‘swine flu’ and ‘bird flu’ pandemics you may remember the unnecessary slaughter of mass amounts of animals in response to the flus and also the illogical distrust of cultures who cook with such animals.
Etymology of ‘Pandemic’
But what makes a disease a proper pandemic disease? You may, of course, have heard of an epidemic. An epidemic disease is ‘a disease that affects a disproportionately large number of people within a community’. The prefix epi- comes from Greek meaning ‘among or upon’ and the suffix -demic comes from Greek meaning ‘people or district’ 5. So an epidemic disease is a disease among a certain population. A pandemic disease, on the other hand, affects all populations. The prefix pan- comes Greek meaning ‘all’.
What makes CoViD-19 a pandemic disease? Well, it is a danger to all of the world’s people. Who decides that? Well, anyone with eyes, I guess. On March 11th, 2020, the WHO (not the band) announced that they would now be referring to CoViD-19 as a pandemic. But when asked what the process is in declaring a pandemic, Mike Ryan, a Chief Executive Director at the WHO, said this:
“There is no formal process, and pandemics, as such, are not declared. It’s not like a public health emergency of international concern in which there’s a body of international law…. This is a characterization or a description of a situation and the [Director General] has said, it’s not a change in what we do. This is not a trigger for anything other than more aggressive, more intensive action. So in that sense it is not and would never be declared as such.”6
So there’s no official protection behind the word pandemic. Anyone can use it however they like. The World Health Organization just happen to be some pretty knowledgeable people on the subject. So maybe we can just trust them on this.
What Is a Virus?
Now you may be asking yourself what is a virus vs a disease? Are viruses different from diseases or flus or bacteria? Well, disease just means dis- ease. It means you are ‘not at ease’. So actually, there isn’t much to limit what can be called a disease.
But viruses are something very particular. A virus is a small infectious agent that uses living cells as a sort of shady motel to replicate themselves. They burrow themselves into living cells, have a rawkus good time completely destroying the cell, and then go out an seek other living cells to party in.
What makes them different from bacteria is that bacteria are cells. Viruses do not have a cell structure. Like a freeloading friend, they must invade other cells to replicate and live. This is why most scientists do not classify them as living beings. With very few exceptions, a living organism must have a cell structure.
Why You Should Wash Your Hands
This is also why hand sanitizers and antibacterial gels won’t help much with a virus. And it’s why, if you have a disease caused by a virus (such as the flu), don’t let your doctor prescribe you antibiotics! They won’t do anything, and your doctor knows it. Usually doctors do this just to get you to shut up and go away.
And while antibacterial gels may not do much, regular soap can. That’s why you hear health officials telling you to WASH YOUR HANDS! You see soaps, when agitated with water, can emulsify. This means they will attach to oils, fats and proteins (like the ones found in viruses), mix with the water and simply wash away 7. That’s why you don’t need to rinse sanitizer, but you must rinse soap.
For a demonstration on proper hand-washing technique talk you your friends that have worked in restaurants or healthcare. They’ve known this for years.
- ‘corona‘ | Online Etymology Dictionary
- Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Tedros | “Coronavirus Press Conference: 11 February, 2020” | World Health Organization | 11 Feb 2020
- Galvin, John | “Spanish Flu Pandemic: 1918” | Popular Mechanics | 31 July, 2007
- “Origin of 2009 H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu): Questions and Answers” | CDC | 25 Nov 2009
- ‘epidemic‘ | Online Etymology Dictionary
- Ryan, Mike | “Virtual Press Conference on COVID-19 – 11 March 2020” | World Health Organization | 11 Mar 2020
- Brown, Alton | “AB’s Hand Washing Demo: No Cleaver!” | Alton Brown | 16 March 2020