WHO Renames Monkeypox Virus To Avoid Stigmatization: Report

Monkeypox got its name since the virus was discovered in monkeys housed for study in Denmark in 1958, however the illness may be found in a variety of species, most often rodents.

Representational Image. (Source: File Photo)

The World Health Organization on Monday stated that the monkeypox would be renamed mpox in English to avoid stigma associated with the current moniker, news agency AFP reported.

Monkeypox got its name since the virus was discovered in monkeys housed for study in Denmark in 1958, however the illness may be found in a variety of species, most often rodents.

In an issued statement, the UN health agency said: "Following a series of consultations with global experts, WHO will begin using a new preferred term 'mpox' as a synonym for monkeypox. Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while 'monkeypox' is phased out."

"WHO will adopt the term mpox in its communications, and encourages others to follow these recommendations, to minimise any ongoing negative impact of the current name and from adoption of the new name," the statement further reads. 

The illness was originally found in humans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970, and its spread among people has been primarily restricted to specific West and Central African nations where it is prevalent since then.

Cases of the illness, which causes fever, muscle pains, and big boil-like skin lesions, began spreading fast over the world in May, primarily among males who have sex with men.

This year, the WHO received reports of 81,107 illnesses and 55 fatalities from 110 countries.

The monkeypox virus spreads from infected animals to people through indirect or direct contact. Direct contact with infected skin or lesions, including face-to-face, skin-to-skin, and respiratory droplets, can result in human-to-human transmission.

Transmission appears to be predominantly through intimate physical contact, including sexual contact, in the present outbreak of monkeypox in countries and among the cases that have been recorded.

Infected items with infectious skin particles, such linens, mattresses, gadgets, and clothes, can also transmit disease.

(With Inputs From AFP)