GENEVA – World Health Organization (World Health Organization/WHO) will soon change the name monkey pox to avoid discrimination and stigmatization of the virus that currently continues to spread. The move to change the name was seen as urgent after scientists called the naming “inaccurate” and “stigmatizing”.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO, said it was working with partners and experts from around the world to rename the monkeypox virus, its clades and the disease it causes. “An announcement about the new name will be made as soon as possible,” he said, quoted by SINDOnews from The Guardian page, Wednesday (15/6/2022).
The move came after scientists called for an “urgent” change to a name they described as “inaccurate”, “discriminatory” and “stigmatizing” in a report released last week.
Read also; WHO Ensures Monkeypox Will Not Become a Pandemic
Similar concerns arose at the height of the coronavirus pandemic when new Covid variants were named after the country or region where they were first detected, leading to travel bans and other restrictions. In response, WHO brought in a naming system that refers to the new variant as the letters of the Greek alphabet.
In the report, the scientists raised concerns that the “prevailing perception” in the media and scientific literature is that the monkeypox virus is endemic to humans in several African countries. The viruses are mostly found in animals, historically triggering occasional outbreaks when they infect people.
Scientists warn of a rising narrative in the media and among the many scientists trying to link the current global outbreak to Africa or west Africa, or Nigeria. While the UK’s Health Security Service first sounded the alarm after someone with monkeypox arrived in London from Nigeria on May 4, the virus has been spreading for some time, especially among men who have sex with men.
Read also; This is Strong Evidence Monkeypox is a Man-made Biological Weapon
“In the context of the current global outbreak, continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but also discriminatory and stigmatizing,” the experts wrote. They continue to criticize the use of photographs of African patients with smallpox lesions in coverage of the outbreak in the global north.
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