Naming diseases: first do no harm.

Abstract

In recent years, the world has seen the emergence of several new human infectious diseases. Given the rapid and global communication through social media and other electronic means, diseases are now often given common names by stakeholders outside as well as inside the scientific community. The use of names such as “swine influenza” and “Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome” has had unintentional negative economic and social impacts by stigmatizing certain industries or communities. Disease names, once given, are difficult to change later even if an inappropriate name is being used. Therefore, it is important that an appropriate name is assigned to a newly identified human disease by whoever first reports it. In response to such concerns, the World Health Organization (WHO), in close collaboration with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and in consultation with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) ([ 1 ][1]), has developed a set of standard best practices for naming new human infectious diseases, with the aim of minimizing unnecessary negative effects on nations, economies, people, and animals. A full description of these best practices is available on the WHO Web site ([ 2 ][2]). These best practices apply to new infections, syndromes, and diseases of humans that have never been recognized or reported before in humans, that have potential public health impact, and for which no disease name is yet established in common usage. They do not replace the existing ICD system, but rather provide an interim solution prior to the assignment of a final ICD disease name. As these best practices only apply to disease names for common usage, they also do not affect the work of existing international authoritative bodies responsible for scientific taxonomy and nomenclature of microorganisms. WHO, OIE, and FAO strongly encourage all national, regional, and international stakeholders, including scientists, national authorities, and media, to follow these best practices in the event of the emergence of a new human disease, so that inappropriate disease names do not become established. The views expressed in this Letter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the signatory organizations. 1. [↵][3] World Health Organization, International Classification of Diseases ([www.who.int/classifications/icd/en][4]). 2. [↵][5] [www.who.int/topics/infectious_diseases/naming-new-diseases/en][6]. [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [4]: http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en [5]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text [6]: http://www.who.int/topics/infectious_diseases/naming-new-diseases/en