Citing racism, WHO says monkeypox will be renamed
No evidence has been found over mutation in monkeypox virus, said WHO (representative image).
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that it is working with experts to rename monkeypox, citing concerns about stigma and racism associated with the virus's "discriminatory" moniker.On Tuesday morning, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared that the organisation was "engaging with partners and experts from around the world on altering the nomenclature of the monkeypox virus, its clades [strains], and the disease it causes."
The WHO, according to Mr Ghebreyesus, will make announcements regarding the new names as soon as feasible.
The decision comes less than a week after more than 30 worldwide scientists called for a "non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing name for monkeypox virus" in a position paper.
On its website, the WHO currently recognises two strains of the virus monkeypox: the West African clade and the Congo Basin (Central African) clade.
Watch | Monkeypox outbreak: 'Further spread of virus likely,' says WHO
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However, according to a group of scientists from Africa and throughout the world, this, like many prior geographic classifications of infectious diseases based on places of first detection, can be misleading and erroneous.
They recommended a new categorization for monkeypox that matches with best practise in infectious disease naming and "minimises unwanted negative repercussions on nations, geographic regions, economies, and people while taking into account the virus's evolution and transmission," according to their suggestion.
This year, the WHO has received reports of 1,600 confirmed monkeypox cases and 1,500 suspected cases from 39 countries, 32 of which have recently been afflicted by the virus.
According to Tedros, 72 deaths have been documented in countries where monkeypox is already prevalent, but none have been reported in newly affected nations.
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