WHO to rename monkeypox after scientists call it 'discriminating and stigmatizing'

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the monkeypox virus is about to get a new name, following accusations of it being "discriminatory and stigmatizing," Time reported.

The swollen-lymph node-causing virus will be renamed after several global scientists pushed for the change, said WHO. The claims of discrimination stemmed from the false narrative about monkeypox being linked to Africa, which scientists outlined in a letter published on June 10.

In their letter, the researchers argued that "[t]he most obvious manifestation of this is the use of photos of African patients to depict the pox lesions in mainstream media in the global north."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

One spokesperson added that the current name was not within the guidelines of the organization. Despite the virus being named in 1958 when it was first identified "in colonies of monkeys," People explains there are still geographical areas and animal names that WHO recommends avoiding.

The symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, and fatigue followed by a rash that spreads from the face to other body parts — and typically is contracted by direct contact with bodily fluids. The death rate in Congo is about 1 in 10 people who catch it, whereas, in the United States, no one has died from monkeypox. Back in 2003, the U.S. saw "an outbreak with 47 cases," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.