GENEVA: On Monday, the World Health Organization announced that it would use a new preferred term. “mpox“The synonym of? for monkeypox You urged others to do the same. to After receiving complaints about the current title, follow the example of others for This disease was racist, and it was stigmatizing.
“Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while ‘monkeypox’ is phased out,” The WHO In a statement
The WHO A public consultation process was launched to Find a new name for The disease was first announced earlier in the year, and more than 200 people submitted proposals. The United States was one of the countries that supported the name-change and welcomed the news.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will also use the term “mpox”Rochelle Walensky, Director of CDC, stated this in a tweet.
“We welcome and support the renaming to mpox to reduce stigma and barriers to care for those most impacted,” Walensky added.
Xavier Becerra, Secretary of US Health and Human Services, said “reducing stigma associated with disease is one critical step in our work to end mpox.”
The most popular suggestion was “mpox” Or “Mpox”, put forward by men’s health organisation RÉZO among others. The director of the organisation stated that the removal monkey imagery had helped people to take the health crisis seriously.
Some ideas were absurd, such as “Poxy McPoxface” This was already mentioned to Boaty McBoatface: The public vote to choose the name of the British polar research vessel before a decision to It can also be called Sir David Attenborough.
The WHO According to global experts, “mpox” Consider scientific appropriateness, current usage, and pronounceability.
Mpox, named after the original animal and discovered in 1958. to These symptoms were mostly found in a small group of countries in central and west Africa up to this year.
Approximately 100 countries in which mpox has not been endemic have reported an outbreak of the virus.
The WHO Has a mandate to Change names to Current diseases International Classification of Diseases.
It generally seeks to Do not associate any disease or virus to a country, region animal, or ethnic group.
It assigned letters to the Greek alphabet last year to New coronavirus varieties to Stop linking them to specific countries.