WHO announces 'mpox' as synonym for Monkeypox; check details
The name 'Monkeypox' was received as the virus was discovered in monkeys kept for research in Denmark in 1958; however, the disease is found in various animals, most commonly rodents.
FollowThe World Health Organization announced that monkeypox would be renamed 'mpox' to avoid the stigma associated with the current name on Monday.Â
The name 'Monkeypox' was received as the virus was discovered in monkeys kept for research in Denmark in 1958; however, the disease is found in various animals, most commonly rodents.Â
Since early May, there has been an increase in monkeypox infections among men who have sex with men outside of the African countries where it has long been endemic.
"When the monkeypox outbreak spread earlier this year, racist and stigmatising language was observed and reported to WHO online, in other settings, and some communities," according to a statement from the UN health agency.
"The WHO will start using the new preferred word for monkeypox, 'mpox,' following discussions with global experts. Both titles will be used interchangeably for a year as the word 'monkeypox' is phased out."
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the disease was first identified in people in 1970. Its spread among humans has been mostly limited to certain West and Central African countries since then.
However, cases of the disease, which causes fever, muscle aches, and large boil-like skin lesions, began rapidly spreading worldwide in May.
The WHO raised its highest alert on July 24, declaring it a public health emergency of international concern alongside Covid-19.
This year, the WHO received reports of 81,107 confirmed cases and 55 deaths from 110 countries.
According to the WHO's case dashboard, where the given dataset was known, 97 per cent were men, with a median age of 34 years old, and 85 per cent identified as men who had sex with men.
The ten most affected countries worldwide are Brazil (9,905), Spain (7,405), France (4,107), the United States (29,001), Colombia (3,803), Britain (3,720), Germany (3,672), Mexico (3,292), Canada (1,449) and Peru (3,444). They account for 86 per cent of all cases worldwide.
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