Gao Fu, Shi Zhengli and other Chinese scientists The Lancet issued an article calling for the rename of the coronavirus

China's novel coronavirus infection in Wuhan, China, February 23, 2020 / Biovalley BIOON / - a rare respiratory disease outbreak was initially caused by pneumonia The new virus was originally named 2019-ncov by who on February 11, 2020, and renamed 2019 coronavirus disease (covid-19) by who On the same day, the coronavirus research group (CSG) of the International Committee of Virology published an article on biorxiv, suggesting that 2019-ncov should be identified as sars-cov-2 based on the phylogenetic analysis of related coronaviruses CSG claims that when they introduce another virus name from "SARS", they do not intend to mention "SARS"; however, SARS is the name of a disease, naming the new virus as sars-cov-2 actually means that it will cause SARS or similar diseases, especially for scientists and the public who lack virology knowledge The new name is also inconsistent with the disease name covid-19 As a naturally occurring virus, sars-cov-2 is different from all other SARS like viruses or SARS related coronaviruses, whose main feature is genome sequence Photo source: https://cn.bing.com/as of February 17, 2020, 2019-ncov has caused 71331 infections and 1775 deaths in China and 24 other countries, which is different from SARS CoV in biological, epidemiological and clinical characteristics Therefore, naming 2019 ncov as sars-cov-2 is actually misleading It should have its own unique name for such an epidemic virus that is obviously of international concern 2019 ncov is still evolving and it is too early to predict the outcome of the current outbreak Some experts predict that ncov in 2019 may evolve into a low pathogenic but highly infectious coronavirus, which may return every winter just like the virus that causes seasonal influenza If so, the name sars-cov-2 may have a negative impact on the social stability and economic development of those countries where the virus is causing epidemics, and may even affect the whole world People panic at the thought of SARS happening again Travelers and investors may not want to visit a country where SARS is prevalent, or even some sporadic cases of SARS People may also think that, like SARS CoV, 2019 ncov will not reappear after the end of the current epidemic; therefore, in the near future, they may not be ready to prevent 2019 ncov infection and may lose their vigilance Novel coronavirus based on its special clinical, virological and epidemiological characteristics and uncertainty, in order to avoid misleading and confusion, and help scientists and the public better communication, we -- a group of China virologist - recommends renaming SARS-CoV-2 2019 HCoV-19 Such a name distinguishes the virus from SARS CoV and aligns it with who's name for the disease covid-19 it causes Reference: Deyin Guo et al A distinct name is needed for the new corona The lancet 2020 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736 (20) 30419-0