The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the official name for the acute pneumonia epidemic caused by the new corona virus strain, "Covid-19".

"We named the epidemic Covid-19," WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva, Switzerland today. He explained that "co" stands for corona, "vi" is the virus and "d" is the disease.

Ghebreyesus said "Covid-19" was chosen because it "was not related to geographic location, animal species, individual or group of people, and was easy to pronounce and related to the disease".

"The identification plays an important role to avoid the use of other names that may be inaccurate or show discrimination, and provides a standard format for use in any viral disease. corona caused in the future, "the WHO head said.

WHO had earlier called the disease caused by the new corona virus strain "acute respiratory infection 2019-nCoV," while China's National Health Commission said it temporarily called it "viral pneumonia." new corona ", abbreviated to NCP.

Covid-19 originated in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and has spread to 26 countries and territories around the world, killing more than 43,000 people and 1,018 killed. The Wuhan government has continued to tighten the blockade, demanding closer monitoring of buildings with virus infections.

However, Ghebreyesus said he saw a "real opportunity" to stop the disease. "We have to take advantage of the window of opportunity now to aggressively attack and simultaneously fight this strain of virus in every corner. Otherwise, we could have a lot more cases and a much higher cost. "he said.

Ghebreyesus also said the first vaccine to treat Covid-19 could be used in about 18 months. "So now we need to use every available weapon," he said.

Countries with nCoV pneumonia patients. Click on image to see details.