The World Health Organization, WHO has renamed the monkeypox virus as mpox.
In a statement, the WHO says the move became imperative to address the stigmatisation resulting from the former name.
“Following a series of consultations with global experts, WHO will begin using a new preferred term ‘mpox’ as a synonym for monkey pox. Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while ‘monkey pox’ 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 notes.
The mpox was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the spread among humans mainly limited to certain West and Central African countries where it is endemic.
However, the virus in recent times which comes with fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, has spread rapidly around the world
Just this year alone, the WHO has reported over 80,000 cases with 55 deaths from 110 countries.