WHO To Change Name Of Monkeypox Virus To Tackle Stigma Associated With It: Report

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the UN health agency, said Tuesday that the WHO will make announcements about the new names as soon as possible.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with partners and experts around the world on changing the name of the monkeypox virus, its clades and the disease it causes, to tackle the stigma and racism associated with it. | Representative Photo

Source : Getty

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with partners and experts around the world on changing the name of the monkeypox virus, its clades and the disease it causes, to tackle the stigma and racism associated with it, news agency IANS reported.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the UN health agency, said Tuesday that the WHO will make announcements about the new names as soon as possible.

About Monkeypox Virus

Monkeypox virus belongs to the orthopoxvirus genus, which also includes variola virus, the causative organism of smallpox; the vaccinia virus, which is used in the smallpox vaccine; and the cowpox virus. The orthopoxvirus genus belongs to the Poxviridae family.

Though the monkeypox virus has been found in a wide variety of mammals, its actual animal source is not known yet. 

The WHO will also discuss more appropriate names for the monkeypox virus with experts in orthopoxviruses.

Scientists Have Advocated Renaming Monkeypox Virus With Numbers

Last week, about 30 scientists from 11 countries pushed the need to cut “discriminatory” language used to differentiate monkeypox virus clades "West Africa and Congo Basin" through a preprint posted on virological.org. The scientists also advocated renaming the monkeypox virus with numbers. 

Tulio de Oliveira, Director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI), South Africa, wrote in a tweet: “:We propose a novel non-discriminatory & non-stigmatizing classification of monkeypox aligned with best practices in the naming infectious diseases to minimize negative impacts on nations, economies & people and consider the evolution & spread of the virus”.

The scientists suggested in the paper that the virus should be broadly classified as "hMPXV". He also suggested that the diversity of the virus should be denoted by neutral lineages such as A, A.1, A.1.1, B.1.

Another example of a virus being renamed is the novel coronavirus. During the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, people around the world referred to the novel coronavirus as China virus or Wuhan virus. Then, the emergence of a Covid strain in South Africa led to travel bans. This prompted the WHO to rename the virus as SARS-CoV-2. 

Incidence Of Monkeypox Cases Worldwide

As many as 2,821 people in both endemic and non-endemic countries have been infected with the monkeypox virus so far.

The WHO reported 1,285 monkeypox cases in 28 'non-endemic' countries, particularly in Europe, North America, and Australia, as of June 8.

As many as 1,536 suspected cases and 59 confirmed cases have been reported in about eight African countries, including Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo and Liberia, where monkeypox is endemic

The non-endemic countries have not reported any deaths from monkeypox to date. Meanwhile, 72 deaths from monkeypox have been reported in the endemic African countries from January till June 8.

Monkeypox is a rare zoonotic disease (infectious disease that is transmitted between species from animals to humans or from humans to animals) caused by infection with monkeypox virus, and does not spread easily between people. Most people recover from monkeypox within a few weeks as it is usually a mild self-limiting illness. However, some individuals can suffer from severe illness. 

Though there is a very low risk of transmission to the general population, monkeypox can be spread when someone is in close contact with an infected person.

The monkeypox virus belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae, and was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research.