What’s in a (disease’s) name?

Toponymous diseases may derive their name from towns, rivers, islands, forests, mountains, valleys, countries, continents, and even trenches. The name congenital Zika syndrome was proposed by the WHO team which confirmed that the virus causes damage beyond microcephaly, the first fetal condition to be linked to it. In January, dermatologists from India and 13 other counties objected to the region-specific nomenclature given to a novel species of fungus — Trichophyton indotineae — that causes widespread and hard-to-treat skin infections and is resistant to most anti-fungal medicines. The Trichophyton indotineae fungus causes a ubiquitous skin problem, commonly known as ring worm, and is resistant to the first-line oral drug terbinafine. In an article published in the Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology titled ‘‘Trichophyton indotineae’ is an inaccurate and pejorative term’, experts say that the name of the fungus is prejudicial and ignores the recommendations of the WHO and the American Society of Microbiology, among others.