A Caution Against Monstrosity Language in Virology Communications

This article cautions against using the metaphor of a monster to refer to viruses in virology research, public health campaigns, and science communications for the public. In some circumstances, the harms of the fear invoked by this metaphor may outweigh the benefits of uniting the public against a common enemy and advocating for transmission prevention methods. Historical examples and a bioethics lens reveal that fear of infection can easily lead to fear of the infected .