A new name for a global epidemic.
Monkeypox, called monkeypox, will now be called mpox, including in other languages, the World Health Organization (WHO) explained on Monday, which can name new diseases and change the name of existing diseases.
The two names will coexist for a period of one year before the term monkeypox is dropped, although it can still be searched for in the international classification of diseases, the WHO said.
If this name were to pose a problem in one language, the Organization would then launch consultations with the competent governmental authorities and the scientific societies concerned, before deciding.
Many countries have requested a name change
When the outbreak of monkeypox cases emerged from spring 2022 "racist and stigmatizing language online, in other settings and in some communities was observed and reported to WHO", prompting some number of countries and individuals or organizations to request a name change, recalls the organization.
Monkeypox gets its name from the fact that the virus was originally identified in monkeys for research in Denmark in 1958, but the disease is most commonly found in rodents.
It was first reported in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Some 81,107 cases and 55 deaths have been reported to WHO this year, from 110 countries.
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