Appellation The World Health Organization announced on Monday that monkey pox (monkeypox) will now be called mpox
Injection of the Monkeypox Vaccine in Nice. — SYSPEO/SIPA
A new name for a global epidemic. Monkey pox, called monkeypox, will now be called mpox, including in other languages, explained this Monday the World Health Organization (WHO), which can name new diseases and change the name of existing diseases.
The two names would coexist for a period of a year before the term monkeypox was dropped, although it could still be searched for. in the international classification of diseases, said WHO.
If this name were to pose a problem in a language, the Organization would then initiate consultations with the competent governmental authorities and the scientific societies concerned. es, before deciding.
Many countries have requested a name change
When the outbreak of monkeypox cases first emerged in From spring 2022 “racist and stigmatizing speech online, in other contexts and in certain communities has been reported. observed and reported to the WHO”, prompting a number of countries and individuals or organizations to request a name change, call back the organization.
Monkey pox takes its name from the fact that the virus was identified to originally in monkeys intended to research in Denmark in 1958, but the disease is most often found in rodents. She has been first reported in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some 81,107 cases and 55 deaths have been reported. reported to WHO this year, in 110 countries.