WHO recommends a naming convention that would shun animal-specific names, such "swine flu."
WHO recommends a naming convention that would shun animal-specific names, such "swine flu."
DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty Images
The Zika virus, which can be spread by mosquitoes, was first observed in a<br />monkey captured in the Zika Forest in Uganda.
The Zika virus, which can be spread by mosquitoes, was first observed in a
monkey captured in the Zika Forest in Uganda.
Andre Penner/AP
Ebola is named for a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where the disease was first diagnosed.
Ebola is named for a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where the disease was first diagnosed.
Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images
Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees has become synonymous with amyotrophic laterals sclerosis (ALS), the a progressive neurodegenerative disease from which he suffered.
Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees has become synonymous with amyotrophic laterals sclerosis (ALS), the a progressive neurodegenerative disease from which he suffered.
NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images
Lyme disease gets its name from where it was first diagnosed, in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
Lyme disease gets its name from where it was first diagnosed, in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
Neurologist Alois Alzheimer identified the illness that bears his name.
Neurologist Alois Alzheimer identified the illness that bears his name.
Apic/Getty Images
West Nile is a mosquito-borne virus names after the location of the first isolated patient, in the West Nile district of Northern Uganda.
West Nile is a mosquito-borne virus names after the location of the first isolated patient, in the West Nile district of Northern Uganda.
Ed Giles/Getty Images
Mad cow disease got its name in the 1980s from the ranchers who first noticed their cattle stumbling around.
Mad cow disease got its name in the 1980s from the ranchers who first noticed their cattle stumbling around.
JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images