WHO renames monkeypox as ‘mpox’

Multimedia

28-11-2022, 23:30

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INA – SOURCES

The World Health Organization announced on Monday, that “mpox” is now the preferred name for monkeypox.

“Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while ‘monkeypox’ is phased out,” the organization said.

US administration said they “welcome the change” and the US will use the mpox name “from this point forward.”

Monkeypox was named in 1970, more than a decade after the virus that causes the disease was discovered in captive monkeys, the organization said. But monkeypox probably didn’t start in monkeys – its origin is still unknown – and the virus can be found in several other kinds of animals. The name was created before WHO published best practices for naming diseases in 2015.

Scientists and experts have pushed since the start of the recent outbreak to change the name to avoid discrimination and stigma that could steer people away from testing and vaccination.