Monkeypox will be renamed, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
This comes after a group of scientists said there was an “urgent need for a non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing” name for the virus, which has mysteriously spread beyond Africa in recent weeks.
A scientific paper published last week, signed by 29 experts, uses the term “hMPXV” for the virus and calls for a “quick solution and the adoption of a new name”.
They said the continued mention of the virus “being African is not only inaccurate, but also discriminatory and stigmatizing.”
The WHO currently names two species of monkeypox as “West African log and Congo (Central African) log pool”.
Researchers write: “There is a growing body of talk in the media and among many scholars trying to link the current global epidemic to Africa or West Africa or Nigeria.
“In addition, the use of geographical labels for MPXV strains, in particular, references to the 2022 outbreak as belonging to a ‘West African’ or ‘West African’ treasure, strain or genotype.”
The researchers added that names that are “neutral, non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing” would be more appropriate for the global health community.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adanom Gebrejes said on Tuesday that the organization was “working with partners and experts from around the world to change the name of the monkeypox virus, its variants and the disease it causes”.
“We will announce the new names as soon as possible,” he added.
Dr Neil Stone, a specialist in infectious diseases at University College London Hospitals, tweeted that he was “glad to hear” that the WHO was “working to change the deeply unpopular name of the virus”.
The virus is called monkeypox because it was first identified in two groups of laboratory monkeys in 1958.
It has since been identified in some wild monkeys in parts of Africa, but rodents are thought to be the main source of infection for human outbreaks in endemic regions.
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1:39 What it’s like to catch monkeypox
On Tuesday, the WHO said it was convening an emergency commission to determine whether the growing monkeypox epidemic should be considered a global health emergency.
Dr Gebreyesus said he called the meeting on June 23 because the virus had shown “unusual” behavior recently, spreading to countries far beyond Africa where it is endemic.
“We do not want to wait until the situation is out of control,” said WHO Emergency Director for Africa Ibrahima Sose Fol.
Declaring monkeypox an international health emergency would give it the same designation as the COVID-19 pandemic, and means that the WHO usually considers the rare disease to be a continuing threat to countries around the world.
There are 1,600 confirmed and 1,500 suspected cases of monkeypox in 39 countries this year, with 72 deaths reported, the WHO said.
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1:00 WHO Monkey Concern
However, none of the deaths have been reported in the newly affected countries, which include the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United States.
A total of 470 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in the United Kingdom, most of them gay or bisexual men.
British scientists said last week that they could not say whether the spread of the disease in the United Kingdom had reached its peak.
The WHO is now publishing new guidelines for monkey vaccination, saying it does not recommend mass vaccination.
It says disease control relies primarily on measures such as surveillance, follow-up and isolation of patients.
Read more: The real reason why COVID-19 got its name
Monkeypox causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions and is spread through close contact.
It is estimated to be fatal in about 3-6% of cases, according to the WHO, although no deaths have yet been reported from the outbreak outside Africa.
The majority of deaths this year are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Last month, a leading WHO adviser said the epidemic in Europe and beyond was likely to spread through sex at two recent raves in Spain and Belgium.
Scientists warn that everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, is susceptible to contracting monkeypox if they are in close physical contact with an infected person or his clothes or sheets.
The WHO is working to establish a mechanism by which some smallpox vaccines – a related disease – can be made available to affected countries as research into their effectiveness against the new outbreak continues.
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