Monkeypox is now called Mpox – that’s what it’s all about

The monkeypox disease is given a new name: the World Health Organization (WHO) now uses the name Mpox instead of Monkeypox, announced Monday in Geneva.

Both names would be side by side for a year before just using Mpox. The new name was chosen because it is easy to pronounce and use in other languages.

The virus itself will also be given a new name. An independent Council of Experts (ICTV) is responsible for this, which has not yet taken a decision. As early as August, the names subgroup I and subgroup II were introduced for the two virus subgroups, named after African regions.

The disease was only called monkeypox because it was first discovered in monkeys in 1958. But monkeys have nothing to do with the outbreaks this year. On the contrary, people become infected through close physical contact with other people. Yet this year in Brazil, monkeys were attacked because people blamed them for the outbreaks.

In general, references to specific countries, regions or animals according to WHO specifications should be avoided in names for diseases. The name should also be easy to pronounce.

Even after the outbreak of the then new type of coronavirus in Wuhan, China, the WHO worked hard on a neutral name to prevent names such as the China virus or the Wuhan virus from being accepted. The disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is called Covid-19, short for coronavirus disease. The 19 shows the disease first emerged in 2019. (sda/dpa)