Why did the World Health Organization decide to change the name "monkeypox"

Philippa Roxby
BBC Health Correspondent

November 28, 2022

Monkeypox virus or Mpox — Illustrative image,

The virus formerly known as monkeypox

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the disease that has come to be known as “monkeypox” (monkeypox) will now be called Mpox, following complaints of racist language and stigma attached to the virus’s name.

The old term will be used in conjunction with the new term for one year before it is phased out.

The name Mpox was decided after lengthy discussions between experts, countries and the general public.

The World Health Organization said it can be easily used in English and other languages.

Human monkeypox was first identified in 1970 and gets its name from the discovery of the disease caused by the virus in captive monkeys more than a decade earlier.

Since then, the World Health Organization has provided guidance on how to name diseases.

It stresses the need to minimize unnecessary negative impact on commerce, travel, tourism or animal welfare and to avoid offending any cultural, social, national or ethnic group.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the agency recommended naming variants using letters from the Greek alphabet because they were “harmless” and easy to pronounce.

This year has seen an extraordinary spread of smallpox virus – a member of the same family of smallpox viruses – in many countries outside of Central and West Africa, where it is often found.

In July, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency due to the global increase in people showing symptoms, including high fever and skin lesions or rashes.

Cases of the disease have been declining for several months, but more than 100 different countries will be affected in 2022 – driving demand for vaccine supplies to protect the most vulnerable.

The United States, Brazil, Spain, France and the United Kingdom recorded the highest total number of smallpox cases this year. Worldwide, there have been 50 deaths from the virus.

On Monday (28/11), Brazil reached 10,000 cases. The country comes second after the United States in terms of the number of deaths and injuries.

Since May, the UK has recorded more than 3,500 cases, but the rollout of vaccines for vulnerable groups has helped bring down numbers after the peak in July.