Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Monkeypox Is Getting a New Name, WHO Announces

Monkeypox Is Getting a New Name, WHO Announces

An emerging disease is set to get a new coat of paint. Officials at the World Health Organization announced this week that they will soon choose a different name for the disease known as monkeypox—one intended to avoid the stigmatization and inaccuracy of its current moniker. The name of the virus behind the disease, also called monkeypox, may change as well, but that decision will have to formally be made by a separate group.
Last week, a group of international scientists published a lengthy paper on the open-access site Virological asking for the change. They argued that monkeypox is an ill-fitting name for the virus and disease, especially in light of its recent global outbreaks that began to be noticed this year.

The virus was first discovered in monkeys in the 1950s, and by the 1970s, it became apparent that it could infect and sicken humans occasionally as well. But the virus’s natural hosts are actually thought to be rodents. And up until recently, human outbreaks have been limited to certain parts of Africa and fueled largely by animal-to-human transmission. This year, however, the virus has infected at least hundreds of people in over two dozen countries and there is clear evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission. And the genetic signature of the virus found in these newer outbreaks suggests that it’s been circulating outside Africa for longer than we knew.

Public health experts are still hoping that the virus can be contained before it establishes itself in new parts of the world. But the scientists behind the Virological paper say that the version of monkeypox now spreading globally should no longer be considered or implied to be an “African” disease, such as through media images that only depict its rashy symptoms on African residents. Thus, they’ve called for a name and future labeling that is “neutral, non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing.”

Currently, for instance, there are two known evolutionary branches of the virus, also known as clades. These groups have been called the “Congo” and “West African” clades, after where they were first identified (the current global outbreaks are caused by “West African” strains). The scientists proposed that the clades should be renamed to clades 1, 2, and 3, with 2 and 3 representing what used to be known as the “West African” clade. As a placeholder label for the virus that’s traveling around the globe, they offered “human monkeypox”, or hMPXV.

At the time of the paper, the authors noted that they had been in contact with the WHO regarding a name change. And on Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the WHO was working on a new name for the disease. Notably, the WHO has made it a formal policy since 2015 to avoid names for diseases that might have negative effects on geographical regions, people, or economical sectors, such as “Spanish flu”—the inaccurate nickname given to the influenza virus behind the 1918 pandemic (Spain was merely the first country to widely report cases and not where it originated).

The WHO’s new labeling of monkeypox will undoubtedly be followed by countries and public health organizations around the world. But importantly, the agency is not responsible for designating the formal scientific name of a virus—that’s up to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), which is helmed by virologists in the field. And the names chosen by the WHO and ICTV can often differ. Covid-19, for instance, is the name of the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, though the WHO and public health organizations will sometimes use the shorthand of calling it the covid-19 virus. The authors of the Virological paper say they’ve been in discussions with the ICTV as well, and the WHO and ICTV may very well announce their respective name changes at the same time, as they did with covid-19/SARS-CoV-2.

Whether the new name for monkeypox ends up being, we’re likely to keep hearing it a lot in the near future. Next week, the WHO is convening a meeting to decide whether the outbreaks this year should be designated a public health emergency of international concern—an alert that was last called for the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
0:00
0:00
Open
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Global News Roundup: From Ukraine's strategic military strikes and Russia's demands and Tensions Escalate in Ukraine, to serious legal issues faced by Britons in Bali and Trump's media criticism, the latest developments highlight a turbulent landscape
Majority of French Voters View Macron's Presidency as a Failure
Hungary Partners with China to Boost Electric Vehicle Production
‘Vibe Coding’ Emerges as the New DIY Trend
AI Pioneer Yoshua Bengio Warns Models Can Deceive Users
Big Four Firms Rush to Create AI Auditing Systems
Musk’s xAI Pursues $113 Billion Valuation in New Share Sale
Walmart Increases Revenue Despite Shrinking Workforce
Hims & Hers Plans UK and EU Launch of Replica Obesity Drugs
Toyota to Acquire Supplier in $33 Billion Buyout
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
BlackRock-Backed Fintech Aims to Become Europe’s Charles Schwab
China Accuses US of Violating Trade Truce
Europe's Strategic Push to Challenge Dollar Dominance
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
France Implements Nationwide Outdoor Smoking Ban to Protect Children
Macron Lightheartedly Addresses Viral 'Shove' Incident in Indonesia
German Chancellor Merz Keeps Putin Guessing on Missile Strategy
Mandelson Criticizes UK's 'Fetish' for Abandoning EU Regulations
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
×