Do you know what COVID-19 means?

[Carta]

Most people I talk to have no idea; [edited].... CO stands for corona; VI for virus, 19 is for the year it came about, (2019) and D for disease....

 

[artringwald]

Even after editing, it sounds too political.

 

[Patri]

I have known that almost since Day 1.

 

[easyrider]

Even after editing, it sounds too political.

I get that, lol.

Bill

 

[Luanne]

I have known that almost since Day 1.

I didn't. I assumed the name came from somewhere, but until it was spelled out for me I didn't know what. However, I didn't try to guess.

 

[easyrider]

Most people I talk to have no idea; [edited].... CO stands for corona; VI for virus, 19 is for the year it came about, (2019) and D for disease....

We were in Mexico when the news came full on with Corona Virus. We immediately stopped drinking Corona and started drinking Pacifico, lol. Thanks for clearing that up !

Bill

 

[tugcccsp]

Unofficially, it is the Wuhan Flu, from Wuhan, China. Many flu viruses are named for the city or region of origin. There are exceptions such as Spanish Flu. It didn't originate in Spain.

 

[DeniseM]

You can call it anything you want "unofficially," but calling it the "flu" is not factually correct, and calling it the "Wuhan Flu," may be offensive. Hopefully, they won't start calling it the "US Flu," since we have the distinction of having the most cases!

 

[GregT]

Unofficially, it is the Wuhan Flu, from Wuhan, China. Many flu viruses are named for the city or region of origin. There are exceptions such as Spanish Flu. It didn't originate in Spain.

Understood, but everything is too political these days.

Ebola is named after initial cases discovered by the Ebola River
Zika is named after initial cases discovered near the Zika Forest

But Wuhan Flu has geopolitical connotations, so we can't call it by it's (perceived?) origin. Your point about the Spanish Flu is a good one as I understand it is not known where it originated.

Strange days for sure....

Best,

Greg

 

[Patri]

and calling it the "Wuhan Flu," may be offensive.

????? Why is it offensive?

 

[bluehende]

Understood, but everything is too political these days.

Ebola is named after initial cases discovered by the Ebola River
Zika is named after initial cases discovered near the Zika Forest

But Wuhan Flu has geopolitical connotations, so we can't call it by it's (perceived?) origin. Your point about the Spanish Flu is a good one as I understand it is not known where it originated.

Strange days for sure....

Best,

Greg

The First known case was in an Army base in Kansas.

First Cases Reported in Spanish Flu Epidemic

A soldier at a military base in Fort Riley, Kansas complains of cold-like symptoms, sore throat, fever and headache. By noon, over 100 soldiers had reported similar symptoms, marking what are believed to be the first cases in the historic influenza epidemic of 1918, later known as Spanish flu.

www.history.com

 

[jme]

Most people I talk to have no idea; [edited].... CO stands for corona; VI for virus, 19 is for the year it came about, (2019) and D for disease....

But WAIT, there's more!

Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it:
Official names have been announced for the virus responsible for COVID-19 (previously known as “2019 novel coronavirus”) and the disease it causes. The official names are:
Disease = coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Virus = severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

 

[Brett]

I have the COVID 15

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-covid-15-lockdowns-are-lifting-and-our-clothes-dont-fit-11593095525

 

[ASlak]

bluehende is correct, the first cases of the "Spanish Flu" were reported in Fort Riley, Kansas, and the virus was apparently spread worldwide by infected American soldiers from there on during 1918 (WW 1). If anything, it should be called the "American Flu," since a number of experts seem to think that it got got its start in Kansas, although that is not definitive. The reason "Wuhan Flu" is deemed offensive is because it can stigmatize an area or culture - political correctness I would suppose. After all, AIDS was called "gay-related immune deficiency" in its early days. And the "Swine Flu" of 2009 was not transmitted by pigs, but the association still hurt pork producers. Arab countries were certainly not happy about the MERS of 2014 - Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Here are the WHO's current disease naming guidelines: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/163636/1/WHO_HSE_FOS_15.1_eng.pdf?ua=1 Of course, potentially offensive names are easier to remember (and say) then the purely scientific ones.

 

[Brett]

bluehende is correct, the first cases of the "Spanish Flu" were reported in Fort Riley, Kansas, and the virus was apparently spread worldwide by infected American soldiers from there on during 1918 (WW 1). If anything, it should be called the "American Flu," since a number of experts seem to think that it got got its start in Kansas, although that is not definitive. The reason "Wuhan Flu" is deemed offensive is because it can stigmatize an area or culture - political correctness I would suppose. After all, AIDS was called "gay-related immune deficiency" in its early days. And the "Swine Flu" of 2009 was not transmitted by pigs, but the association still hurt pork producers. Arab countries were certainly not happy about the MERS of 2014 - Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Here are the WHO's current disease naming guidelines: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/163636/1/WHO_HSE_FOS_15.1_eng.pdf?ua=1 Of course, potentially offensive names are easier to remember (and say) then the purely scientific ones.

yes - I've seen articles describing the history of the "Spanish Flu" - why is was called "Spanish" and quarantines in the early part of the last century

 

[DeniseM]

????? Why is it offensive?

Because some people have used it and variations thereof to slam China.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Carta]

Do you think "KungFlu" is offensive/racist? Well I sure as hell do..

 

[Patri]

China deserves a little slamming, although the virus would likely have spread far and wide eventually anyway.

 

[fillde]

Possibly the current administration got the term Kung Flu from the previous administration. Here is the term being used by the US Dept of Veterans Affairs.

Flu Shots for Veterans - Tennessee Valley Healthcare System

Flu shots for Veterans available beginning September 22nd.

web.archive.org

 

[PigsDad]

China deserves a little slamming, although the virus would likely have spread far and wide eventually anyway.

Criticizing their government on how they handled the Covid-19 situation is one thing; making racist remarks such as "Kung Flu" is something completely different, IMO.

Kurt

 

[Patri]

Criticizing their government on how they handled the Covid-19 situation is one thing; making racist remarks such as "Kung Flu" is something completely different, IMO.
Kurt

I never heard that phrase until today.

 

[Luanne]

I never heard that phrase until today.

You hadn't heard "Kung Flu" until today? It's become one of Trump's favorite phrases recently.

 

[DeniseM]

We're done here...