The preferred name for the viral disease going forward will be ‘mpox,’ the World Health Organization announced Monday
Monkeypox will be getting a new name, following a global consultation with experts, in a move designed to avoid discrimination and stigma attached to the current one, says the World Health Organization.
“Considerations for the recommendations included rationale, scientific appropriateness, extent of current usage, pronounceability, usability in different languages, absence of geographical or zoological references, and the ease of retrieval of historical scientific information,” said the organization.
As several countries suffered outbreaks this year, WHO said it had been approached by individuals and countries asking it to stem the tide of racist language and behaviour online and off, linked to the name. It was given its name in 1970, after the virus that caused it was identified as one discovered in captured monkeys in 1958. That was before WHO adopted a best practices standard for naming diseases.
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