WHO to rename monkeypox after scientists complain label ‘stigmatizing’By David Propper
June 14, 2022
The World Health Organization will rename the increasingly spreading monkeypox virus after a group of scientists claimed the name could be “stigmatizing.”
“WHO is also working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the name of monkeypox virus,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced at a press briefing Tuesday.
“We will make announcements about the new names as soon as possible.”
Dropping the monkeypox label follows a letter from a group of 30 international scientists that wrote last week the “urgent need” to switch the name.
“Given the increasingly rapid communication of, and attention to, the international human MPXV outbreak, it is important to consider an appropriate, non-discriminatory, and non-stigmatizing nomenclature and classification of MPXV clades,” part of the letter states.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2022/06/14/who-renaming-monkeypox-after-experts-say-name-could-be-stigmatizing/