The Novel Coronavirus: 3 Distinctions for Translation

​​Virus, family, illness.

​Below, I will briefly summarize 3 terms that distinguish between the virus, the family of viruses, and the illness related to the current pandemic. All of these need to be clearly understood when translating scientific documents, especially going forward into 2021, as research develops at a faster rate.

1) SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus causing the current pandemic, i.e. it causes COVID-19. Sometimes, it is also called the novel coronavirus, since it is a new strain of coronavirus (see no. 2 below) that has not been previously identified in humans.

*** Side note: I have found conflicting information that this virus presents multiple strains. I am not a scientist, therefore I won’t take a position on this. I will, however, leave a few links:
- The first two explain that there ARE not different strains. The first was published in the spring and the second this fall.
​- The third link takes you to a short summary of research (published in August) from the University of Bologna supporting the presence of multiple strains.

2) The term coronavirus is the common name for a family of viruses known to cause respiratory illnesses; the scientific name is Coronaviridae. Thus, it is a broader term than SARS-CoV-2. See the CDC's website for more.

3) Finally, COVID-19 (short term for COronaVIrus Disease 2019) is the name of the illness related to the current pandemic. It is caused by the above-mentioned virus, SARS-CoV-2.

​So, when translating documents on this topic, be sure that you are making the distinction between the disease, the family or the specific strain. 
 
Also, note that sometimes the source document uses the terms incorrectly, as this pandemic has been caused by a never-before-seen-in-humans virus. Be sure to inform the client of your choices in your translation.

Specifically, if you find a discrepancy between the source term and what is meant, let them know in a note. It is always best to communicate clearly with your client so that information is conveyed as accurately as possible across the translation process.
 
Link to a helpful glossary:
At this time, many glossaries are available to translators and interpreters. The above link is to a blog post from a professional translation company that includes glossaries in many languages. I found the French/English glossary to be very accurate. Perhaps you will find something useful for your own work!