新冠病毒的變異株不斷出現，但是你知道怎么稱呼這些變異株嗎？比如最早在印度發現的變異毒株學名為B.1.617.2，又該怎么念呢？針對變異毒株難念難寫又難記的問題，同時也為了避免將毒株和地名聯系在一起產生的污名化問題，世界衛生組織建議用希臘字母表來給新冠變種毒株重新命名。

The World Health Organization has proposed new names for Coronavirus variants using letters from the Greek alphabet.

世界衛生組織提出用希臘字母表的字母重新命名新冠變種毒株。

WHO's naming scheme will be used to label noteworthy strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, such as 'Delta' for the variant first detected in India, also known as B.1.617.2.

世衛組織將為值得關注的新冠病毒變種重新命名，比如將印度首次發現的變種毒株命名為Delta，該毒株又名為B.1.617.2。

Naming variants after a geographical location — such as a country — is misleading because a Covid variant didn't necessarily emerge where it was initially identified, but people from that place are still blamed for a variant's spread of a Covid variant.

根據地理位置（比如一個國家）為變種毒株命名容易產生誤解，因為變種不一定是在最先發現的地方產生的，但是那里的人們依然會因為變種病毒的傳播而受到指責。

In a letter to the journal Science, researchers concluded that "scientific and media reports should not refer to variants by country names" but admitted that "mutation-based or lineage names are difficult to say and write."

研究人員在致《科學》雜志的一封信中總結道“科學和媒體報道不應該用國名來指代變種”，但是也承認“基于變異的名字或譜系名難念又難寫”。

Mark Pallen, professor of microbial genomics at the Quadram Institute and University of East Anglia, suggested alternatives that use a pre-generated list of proper nouns because labels like B.1.617.2 are so tricky to pronounce and remember.

四方研究所和東英吉利亞大學的微生物基因組學教授馬克·帕倫建議采用一個固有的專有名詞清單來重新命名，因為B.1.617.2這樣的標簽不好念也不好記。

WHO designed its Greek naming scheme to allow people to talk about Covid variants without using inappropriate labels, says Pallen. "It was so that the media and the public could communicate quickly about the variants."

帕倫稱，世衛組織擬定了一個希臘命名計劃，讓人們不必再用不合適的標簽來談論新冠變種病毒。“這樣媒體和公眾就可以在談論變種病毒時快速交流。”

WHO will assign a Greek letter after selecting a 'Variant of Interest' (VOI) — a strain with mutations that seem to increase local cases or impact health — or a 'Variant of Concern' (VOC) that also spreads more readily, is more virulent (causes severe disease) or can escape the immunity provided by vaccines.

世衛組織會在選出“待觀察變種”或“須關切變種”后分配希臘字母。“待觀察變種”就是導致本地病例增加或影響患者健康的變種，“須關切變種”就是在此基礎上傳染性更強、加重患者病情或疫苗對其無效的變種。

As of 31 May 2021, WHO had assigned names to six VOIs and four VOCs. The four worrying variants have been named Alpha (AKA lineage B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1) and Delta (B.1.617.2), which were first detected in the UK, South Africa, Brazil and India respectively.

截至2021年5月31日，世衛組織已經給6個待觀察變種和4個須關切變種指定了名字。這4個值得關注的變種分別被命名為Alpha（又名為B.1.1.7）、Beta（B.1.351）、Gamma（P.1）和Delta（B.1.617.2），首次發現這些變種的地點分別是英國、南非、巴西和印度。

WHO's scheme has solved a major problem: labels based on location can create social stigma and lead to racism. Using Greek letters provides a practical solution because the new names are easy to say, write and remember. There's no excuse not to use them.

名字基于地點的標簽會造成社會污名化，引發種族歧視，而世衛組織的命名計劃解決了這個大問題。采用希臘字母也很實用，因為新名字好念、好寫也好記。沒有理由不用這些新名字。

Persuading the media to use Greek letters could still be a challenge, however. A press release that announces the scheme ends by saying that, to avoid using names that are stigmatizing and discriminatory, "WHO encourages national authorities, media outlets and others to adopt these new labels."

然而，說服媒體采用希臘字母名依然是個挑戰。一篇宣布該計劃的新聞稿的結尾是這樣寫的：為了避免使用帶來污名和歧視的名字，“世衛組織鼓勵各國政府部門、媒體機構和其他各方都采用這些新標簽。”

WHO's approach has some minor limitations. Delta Airlines probably won't be pleased to have its brand associated with a Covid variant, for example, and it's not clear what will happen after variants inevitably outnumber the letters from the Greek alphabet.

不過，世衛組織的命名方式也有一些小小的局限性。舉例來說，達美航空公司應該不希望自己的品牌名和新冠變種聯系在一起，而且當變種數量不可避免地超過希臘字母表的字母數量時，又該怎么辦呢？

英文來源：福布斯網站

翻譯&編輯：丹妮