A retrovirus by any other name

According to Dr. Joe Burrascano, participants at the first Whittemore Peterson Institute scientific symposium have proposed a new name for XMRV, the retrovirus that may cause ME/CFS.

XMRV stands for xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus. Says Dr. Burrascano:

This virus is a human, not mouse virus, and it is the first and so far only gamma-retrovirus known to infect people. Also, it is clearly not an "endogenous" retrovirus (one that is present in all genomes due to ancient infection). Because of all of this, and because of the desire to begin on the right track:

• The new name of the virus is HGRV - Human Gamma Retro Virus.
  
  
• The illness caused by this infection is named HGRAD - Human Gamma Retrovirus Associated Disease.

Source: ProHealth

As an advocate, this seems like hopeful news. Longtime ME/CFS researcher Nancy Klimas once gave a talk in which she said she expected the name "XMRV" to change as we learned more about the retrovirus. So a new name reflecting a better understanding feels like progress.

As a songwriter, someone who spends a great deal of time contemplating the shapes of words, I confess that I'm a little let down by the new names. HGRV? Sounds like a cable company and doesn't roll off the tongue. HGRAD? Also awkward to say. (I'm guessing everyone will default to pronouncing it "aich-grad." Others have suggested "hagrid," which rolls better but doesn't make a lot of sense.)

Oh well. I realize it's not a scientist's job to make stuff sound good, and that they must value accuracy over all things. With any luck, the progress this represents will far outweigh any of my petty concerns over poetics.