Since early 2020, COVID-19 has been on the front page of news outlets across the globe, and for good reason. As of Oct. 11, the disease has cumulatively infected 37,109,851 individuals worldwide and caused over one million deaths, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Oct. 12 weekly epidemiological update.
Mark Cayabyab, associate professor in the department of oral science and translational research with the college of dental medicine, explained “this [SARS-CoV-2] is an interesting virus because it is so infectious, most likely because of the way it’s transmitted. It can be transmitted person-to-person via [respiratory] droplets, and now the CDC thinks that it’s also airborne. Any airborne viruses are highly infectious… So, when the virus infects respiratory epithelial and endothelial cells, or blood vessels, it causes a lot of damage to the host.”
With a disease as prevalent as COVID-19, there can be a lot of public health-specific jargon used by experts and officials that can be difficult to fully comprehend. While staying educated and up-to-date on the disease, you might repeatedly run into some specific words when reading the news. Below is a compiled list of some terms associated with COVID-19, along with their definitions and links to resources to learn more.
Words you’re seeing and what they mean
Check out the hyperlinks for more information regarding each of these terms.
Virus: As defined by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Genome Research Institute, a virus is a “small collection of genetic code, either DNA or RNA, surrounded by a protein coat.” Viruses must use host cells in order to replicate themselves.
Coronavirus: The following is the CDC’s definition for coronaviruses: “Coronaviruses, named for the crown-like spikes on their surfaces, are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats and bats.”
COVID-19: COVID-19 stands for coronavirus disease 2019.
SARS-CoV-2: SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the particular coronavirus that causes COVID-19, not to be confused with SARS-CoV, the virus that caused the viral respiratory illness, SARS, outbreak in Feb. 2003. SARS stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Epidemic/pandemic: According to the CDC, an epidemic is “an increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in that population in that area,” while a pandemic is defined as an epidemic that has “spread over several countries or continents, usually affecting a large number of people.”
Hotspot: Merriam-Webster defines a hotspot as, generally, “a place of more than usual interest, activity or popularity.” A hotspot is a word applied to many different topics — in the case of the pandemic, it is likely referring to a geographic area, such as a country or state, with a high number of cases or cases per resident. However, a study published by The National Center for Biotechnology Information, a branch of the NIH, stated that “the precise meaning of ‘hotspot’ varies widely in current research and policy documents.”
Quarantine: Quarantine is separating someone who was exposed to a disease to monitor their symptoms in case they do get sick.
Isolation: An individual who is sick with a contagious disease is told to isolate, or separate themselves from others who are not sick, to limit the risk of spreading the illness.
Vaccine: A vaccine is “A product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease,” according to the CDC.
