Monkeypox to be given new 'non-discriminatory' name
Monkeypox is set to be called something new – but it is unclear exactly what.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed it is working on a different name for the virus amid concerns that the current terminology is discriminatory.
It comes with the UN agency also set to discuss whether to give the virus its highest health warning classification as concerns continue to mount.
The WHO said yesterday that it would hold an emergency meeting next week to determine whether to classify the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
The disease had for decades generally been confined to west and central Africa, until well over 1,000 cases were detected in dozens of countries outside the region.
WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus branded the outbreak ‘unusual and concerning’ as he announced the convening of the emergency committee on Thursday, June 23.
If classified as a PHEIC, it would make it only the third illness currently in the category worldwide, after Covid-19 and polio.
Dr Tedros added that the ‘WHO is also working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the name of monkeypox virus… and the disease it causes.
‘We will make announcements about the new names as soon as possible.’
The move comes after more than 30 scientists called for a new name last week.
They wrote that there was an ‘urgent need for a non-discriminatory and non-stigmatising nomenclature for monkeypox’.
The group added: ‘In the context of the current global outbreak, continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatising.’
As of yesterday, there had been 1,600 confirmed and 1,500 suspected cases of monkeypox in 39 countries this year, with 72 deaths, according to the WHO.
While monkeypox was first discovered in macaques, many cases are believed to be transmitted to humans by rodents.
The normal initial symptoms of monkeypox include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes and a blistery chickenpox-like rash.
However, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that current cases do not always present flu-like symptoms, and rashes are sometimes limited to certain areas.
The committee meeting next week will include global experts, but the WHO director general will make the final decision on whether the outbreak deserves the PHEIC label.
Giving it one would help accelerate research and funding.
Experts have been pushing the organisation for faster action for several weeks, following criticism of the agency’s initial response to the coronavirus pandemic.
To fight the spread, the WHO is recommending ‘tried-and-tested public health tools including surveillance, contact-tracing and isolation of infected patients’.
The virus spreads through close contact and in the UK many cases have been detected in men who have sex with other men.
It is thought to be fatal in around 3-6% of cases, according to the WHO, although no deaths have yet been reported outside Africa in this outbreak.
Dr Tedros said that it was time to consider stepping up the response because the virus is behaving unusually, more countries are affected, and there is a need for international co-ordination.
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