The United Nations' (UN) World Health Organization (WHO) has suggested that scientists, media, and officials use certain methods to name new infectious diseases. The goal is to select names that are non-degrading to people, nations, or economies.
Dr. Keiji Fukuda, an Assistant Director-General at WHO, said that the process might seem like a "trivial issue" to some people. However, he explained that it is significant to people who are affected.
Some examples of problematic disease names include "Middle East respiratory syndrome" and "swine flu." Fukuda argues that such names can have a negative effect outside the public health sector.
The effect of particular new disease names can influence people in certain ethnic communities and religious groups. It can even affect areas such as trade and commerce.
For example, earlier this year the Institute of Medicine caused some buzz. It proposed that "chronic fatigue syndrome" be renamed as "systemic exertion intolerance disease," according to Medical News Today.
WHO is encouraging that the media use certain methods when it first reports about the discovery of a new infectious disease. That is because changing it can be difficult once it enters the Internet and social media.
One example of WHO's recommendations is that the disease's name be short and simple to pronounce. That includes acronyms in the name as well.
WHO's International Classification of Diseases (ICD) gives the final name to a newly named human disease. The goal of WHO's guidelines is to provide a temporary solution until the official name is given to the human infectious disease.
WHO's attempt to change the methods for naming new infectious diseases has become a punch-line of several jokes in the media. However, the UN agency explained that terms such as "bird flu" and "swine flu" can result in the "needless slaughter" of such animals, according to Care2.