The World Health Organization (WHO) wants to give monkeypox a new name. Efforts have long been made to stop naming diseases after animals or regions to avoid any possibility of discrimination or stigmatization, a WHO spokesperson said.
For example, the term monkey pox could indicate an origin from Africa, according to the spokesperson. Until May, the virus and the disease, both of which will be renamed, were known almost exclusively from Africa, but the name was misleading anyway: The virus was first discovered in monkeys at a testing facility in Denmark in 1958, but according to current reports. knowledge it should be more common in small rodents. The monkeys are only considered false hosts.
In a dead host, the parasite cannot develop further, but the result can be damage to the host. Contact with these animals can sometimes also lead to transmission of the virus to humans, the so-called zoonosis.
Coronavirus also renamed
When the coronavirus emerged in late 2019, the WHO acted quickly to curb the spread of names like “Wuhan virus,” named after the Chinese city where it was first discovered. On February 11, 2020, the WHO announced that the new virus was called Sars-CoV-2 and the disease it caused was Covid-19.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
