Experts express concerns over fast-spreading misinformation related to monkeypox virus

Many experts are worried that the misinformation related to the monkeypox outbreak is spreading faster than the virus. Such concerns have been raised when unverified reports recently emerged, claiming that the monkeypox virus spread easily through the air and spreads from food and also causes high levels of anxiety.

Monkeypox cases continue to surge across the globe. Now, experts are gathering information as they investigate how the virus spreads, how people catch it and what are its typical symptoms.

The monkeypox outbreaks have also led to anti-gay stigma as the wave of infections is linked above all to sexual intercourse between men. In the LGBTQ community, the stigma has kept many people hidden in shame.

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As per a recent survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, about 1 in 5 people in the United States are worried they will contract monkeypox.

The data shows that almost all of the 11,177 cases in the US are in men but still nearly one-quarter of women in the survey said they were worried about contracting the virus.

Dr Tom Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "You don't want to send a message that this will only affect gay men."

The monkeypox virus is "primarily, overwhelmingly a disease of men who have sex with men, spread through sexual contact."

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Dr Frieden is now the president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, a global public health initiative. "I'm startled at the number of people who I know in the US and globally who, when I mention this, are shocked as if they'd never heard that before," he said.

Experts have noted that the rampant spread of misinformation online is to blame for the disproportionately high anxiety.

WHO wants to change the name

The World Health Organization (WHO) is looking forward to renaming monkeypox. On Tuesday (August 16), the health body asked for help from the public to come up with a less stigmatising designation for the fast-spreading disease.

Experts warn the name can be stigmatising to the primates it was named after. Notably, monkeys play little role in the spread of monkeypox. For example, recently in Brazil, there have been reported cases of people attacking monkeys over fear.

WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told reporters in Geneva, "Human monkeypox was given its name before current best practices in naming diseases."

(With inputs from agencies)

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