Monkeypox disease is to be renamed because of complaints that its name is racist and stigmatising, the World Health Organization has announced.
WHO ordered the disease to be fully renamed as “mpox” within the year.
WHO controls the International Classification of Diseases and has power to change the official names used in English.
The virus was first discovered in captive monkeys in 1958 and they gave their name to the disease in 1970. Guidance adopted in 2015 banned the adoption of disease names that can have an impact on animal welfare, travel or tourism.
WHO will retain the original name in the ICD database so that reports about monkeypox can be linked to the new disease of mpox.
A WHO statement said: “When the outbreak of monkeypox expanded earlier this year, racist and stigmatising language online, in other settings and in some communities was observed and reported to WHO.
“In several meetings, public and private, a number of individuals and countries raised concerns and asked WHO to propose a way forward to change the name.”
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