WHO seeks new name for monkey pox

Experts warn that the disease’s current name could be discriminatory against monkeys and the African continent with which the animals are often associated. Recently, cases have been reported from Brazil in which people had attacked monkeys for fear of the disease.

Vir can spread from animals to humans
The virus can pass from animals to humans. However, WHO experts emphasize that the recent global spread is due to close contact between people.

Originally discovered in monkeys
Monkeypox is a less dangerous relative of smallpox, which has been eradicated for about 40 years. They got their name because the virus was originally discovered in monkeys in 1958. The disease also occurs in other animals.

declared a health emergency
Monkeypox was first discovered in humans in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970. Since then, the disease has mainly occurred in some West and Central African countries. Since May, however, it has also been increasingly registered outside Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency in July due to the significant increase in monkey pox cases.

Typical symptoms of the disease include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes, and pustules similar to chickenpox. The disease is transmitted through close body and skin contact.

The WHO announced last week that experts had agreed on new names for the virus variants. Until now, the main variants have been named after the regions in which they occurred – i.e. Congo Basin clade and West African clade. Instead of these designations simply Roman numerals should now be used, ie clade I and clade II.