In response to scientists claim that “Monkeypox” virus is discriminatory and stigmatizing, the World Health Organization is renaming the virus
Monkey what, monkey who?!, Monkeypox is on the rise as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated on Tuesday that the virus would be renamed after 64 years due to more than 1,600 confirmed cases of monkeypox recorded from 39 countries this year.
According to People, the Monkeypox name change comes in response to more than 30 scientists from around the world who demanded that the virus be renamed.
“WHO is also working with partners and experts from around the world on updating the nomenclature of monkeypox virus, its clades, and the disease it causes,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press conference. Another spokesman stated the name violates the organization’s principles, which state that geographic locations and animal names should be avoided. In a letter published on June 10th by Time, the scientist explains why he fought for the name change.
While the cause of the current monkeypox outbreak is uncertain, scientists claim that there is an incorrect narrative attributing all cases to Africa. “In the context of the current worldwide outbreak, continuing to refer to and name this virus as African is not only wrong, but also discriminatory and stigmatizing,” the letter added. While not all of the cases are linked to Africa, the CDC described how the moniker came to be. According to reports, monkeypox received its moniker since it was originally discovered in 1958 in monkey colonies.
The first human case of monkeypox, however, was discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970. Furthermore, the majority of cases have occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria. According to NBC News, the US has documented 72 instances of monkeypox in 18 states in the previous month, making it the country’s greatest monkeypox outbreak ever.
