WHO renames monkeypox to “Mpox”.

The World Health Organization (WHO) wants to rename the disease  monkeypox to “Mpox” to prevent stigmatization of those affected. “After (…) consultations with global experts, the WHO will start using the new preferred term ‘Mpox’ as a synonym for monkeypox,” the UN organization said in a statement on Monday. Both names would be used in parallel for a year – with “Monkeypox” then gradually being replaced.

The WHO will use the term “Mpox” in its communications and urge others to follow these recommendations “to minimize the negative impact of the current name (…),” it said. 

Monkeypox got its name because the virus was originally found in monkeys kept for research in Denmark in 1958. In fact, however, the disease also occurs in many other animals, most commonly in rodents. 

The disease was first detected in humans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970. Since then it had spread mainly to West and Central African countries.

However, in May, cases of the disease began to spread around the world, mostly among men who have sex with men. This year, 81,107 infections and 55 deaths were reported to the WHO from 110 countries.

Monkeypox is a much less dangerous relative of smallpox, which was eradicated about 40 years ago. Typical symptoms of the disease include a high  fever ,  swollen lymph nodes  and pustules similar to chickenpox.