EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Unlike the system of binomial nomenclature adopted in cellular species, there is currently no standardized form for virus species names. At present, the ICTV mandates that a species name must contain as few words as possible while remaining distinct, and must not only contain the word virus and the host name.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Executive Committee recommends the adoption of a standardized binomial system for naming virus species in a consistent and universally applied manner. In this system, the species name would consist of two (and only two) words separated by a single space.

Detailed explanation-3: -Because the first word of the binomial name of a virus species is a genus name, it always ends in ‘… virus’, and it can be treated as a neuter noun, thus simplifying the task of providing the appropriate ending to the epithet.

Detailed explanation-4: -Vertebrate viruses may be named according to the associated diseases (poliovirus, rabies), the type of disease caused (murine leukemia virus), or the sites in the body affected or from which the virus was first isolated (rhinovirus, adenovirus).

Detailed explanation-5: -Since 1966 the classification and nomenclature of viruses at the higher taxonomic levels (families and genera) has been systematically organized by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. The highest taxonomic group among viruses is the family; families are named with a suffix-viridae.