The World Health Organization (WHO) announced this November 28 that monkeypox (monkeypox in English) will be renamed mpox in all languages, after "racist and stigmatizing statements" were recorded due to the initial name.
However, the WHO specified that both names will be used for a year before the term monkeypox is completely replaced.
The United Nations health agency, based in Geneva, has the authority to name new diseases and, very exceptionally, change the name of existing ones, according to the AFP news agency.
"The issue of the use of the new name in different languages was addressed at length. The term mpox can be used in other languages," the WHO said and clarified that if it turned out to be problematic in any language, the organization would launch consultations with the competent authorities.
Monkeypox was named so because it was originally identified in monkeys used for research in Denmark in 1958, but the disease is more common in rodents.
It was first reported in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its spread in our species was limited to certain countries in West Africa where it is endemic. But in May, cases began to appear around the world. Globally this year, more than 81,000 cases and 55 deaths were reported in 110 countries.
When the monkeypox outbreak began in the spring of 2022, "racist and stigmatizing statements" were observed online, prompting some countries and individuals to call for a name change, the WHO recalled.
