Dermatologists from India and 13 other countries have objected to the region-specific nomenclature given to a novel species of fungus i.e. “Trichophyton (T.) indotineae”, as having inaccurate and pejorative connotations.
- The article was published in the Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology titled ‘‘Trichophyton indotineae’.
- Violation: The name of the fungus is prejudicial and ignores the recommendations of the WHO and the American Society of Microbiology as it adds no value to either treating the disorder or finding a cause for the resistance.
About “Trichophyton (T.) indotineae” Fungus
- Trichophyton indotineae is a recently identified dermatophyte species (a type of fungus causing ringworm infections on skin, hair, and nail) associated with causing outbreaks of tinea infections, particularly in India
- It has assumed a near-epidemic form on the Indian subcontinent.
- Terbinafine Resistance: The fungus is resistant to the first-line oral drug terbinafine.
- Naming: The Fungus was named Trichophyton indotineae on the basis of a proposal forwarded by a Japanese dermatologists in 2020 who had spotted the fungus in patients from India and Nepal.
- He proposed that the fungus should be considered a new species.
- Discovered by: The resistance gene was discovered by the Dermatology Department at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh.
- Prevalence: The fungus has been reported from more than 40 countries with the origin of the fungus yet unknown.
- Affected Areas: T. indotineae causes inflammatory and itchy, often widespread, dermatophytosis affecting the groins, gluteal region, trunk, and face.
|
How Are Diseases Named?
- The final name of any new human disease is assigned by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), which is managed by WHO.
- Process: The WHO in a consultative process including WHO member states assigns names to new diseases or existing diseases under the International Classification of Diseases and the WHO Family of International Classifications.
- Parameters: Parameters that are taken into consideration for naming diseases are,
- Rationale, scientific appropriateness, extent of current usage, pronounceability in different languages, absence of geographical or zoological references, and the ease of retrieval of historical scientific information
- Renaming: The WHO also renames diseases or debunks researchers if they have disturbing legacies.
- Example: The disease Reiter’s Syndrome named after the German physician, Hans Reiter, was renamed to Reactive Arthritis after his association with Nazi ideology and his involvement in unethical medical experiments was discovered
- Challenges in Naming:
- To develop an accurate, and easy-to-understand and communicate naming systems and terminology, especially in cases where new data and variants emerge at a rapid pace like the COVID-19 pandemic
- Politisisation of Disease: Associating a location with a disease or pathogen puts the onus on the country or government to “do more” by putting the blame on them.
- Example: The COVID-19 pandemic being referred to as the Chinavirus.
- Affecting Ec onomies: Local economies, especially those dependent on tourism, can be devastated once associated with a disease
- Example: the “Nipah” virus resulted in the slaughter of over 1 million pigs and Singapore placed a ban on pig imports from Malaysia.
- The way diseases are named can invite miscommunication about transmission and prevention.
- Example: Pigs merely served as a passthrough host for the Nipah virus; the true reservoir is bats.
World Health Organization’s 2015 Best Practices Mandate
WHO has issued best practices for naming new human infectious diseases,
- Application: It applies to only new infections, syndromes, and diseases that have never been recognized or reported in humans before having potential public health impact, and for which there is no existing disease name in common usage.
- Development Partners: WHO in collaboration with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) has developed the best practices guidelines.
- Guidelines:
-
- First Report Responsibility: The person to first report the newly identified human disease should use an appropriate name that is scientifically sound and socially acceptable.
- Disease Name Constituents: The Disease name should consist of,
- Generic descriptive terms based on the symptoms that the disease causes (e.g. respiratory disease, neurologic syndrome, watery diarrhoea)
- Specific descriptive terms with available information on how the disease manifests, who it affects, its severity or seasonality (e.g. progressive, juvenile, severe, winter).
- A Known pathogen causing disease (e.g. coronavirus, influenza virus, salmonella) should be made part of the disease name.
- Terms to Avoid: Terms that should be avoided in disease names include,
- Geographic locations (e.g. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Spanish Flu, Rift Valley fever)
- People’s names (e.g. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Chagas disease)
- Species of animal or food (e.g. swine flu, bird flu, monkey pox)
- Cultural, population, industry or occupational references (e.g. legionnaires)
- Terms that incite undue fear (e.g. unknown, fatal, epidemic).
- Need: Giving appropriate scientific names to diseases is particularly important because,
- A stereotypical name can have unintended negative impacts by stigmatizing certain communities or economic sectors
- A Prejudicial disease name can provoke a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities, creating unjustified barriers to travel, commerce and trade
- It can trigger needless slaughtering of food animals having serious consequences for peoples’ lives and livelihoods.
About Toponymous Diseases
- Toponym refers to any name derived from a place’s name which can be anything from towns, rivers, islands, forests, mountains, valleys, countries, continents, and even trenches etc.
- Toponymous Diseases: These disease’s names are directly tied to a specific location, whether for the first documented case, origin, or area of high incidence.
- Examples:
- Ebola: Named after the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) where the disease was identified in 1976.
- The “New Delhi metallo beta lactamase,” or NDM-I disease discovered in India
- Spanish flu: The influenza pandemic of 1918-1920 is sometimes called the Spanish flu even though it did not originate in Spain.
- Zika Virus: It comes from the Zika forest in Uganda in the Luganda language. The scientists first isolated the virus from a rhesus monkey in 1947 while researching yellow fever.
- Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
|
To get PDF version, Please click on "Print PDF" button.
PWOnlyIAS
