WHO recommends new name for monkeypox: “mpox”

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced, on Monday (28), a new guideline for the nomenclature of the disease that became known as monkeypox (“monkeypox”, in English).

In a statement released this Monday, the WHO recommends using the term “mpox”, as the other name has been appropriated for racist and stigmatizing use on networks and in other environments.

The Organization stated that the two names will be used simultaneously for a year as a form of adaptation until “monkeypox” (and “monkeypox”) completely falls out of use.

“As the monkeypox outbreak expanded earlier this year, racist and stigmatizing language online, in other settings and in some communities was observed and reported to WHO. In various meetings, both public and private, a number of individuals and countries raised concerns and asked the WHO to propose a way to change the name,” the WHO said on Monday.

The Organization held consultations with experts, the general public and countries to suggest new names. Based on this, Director General Tedros Adhanom issued the following recommendations:

• Adoption of the new English synonym “mpox” for the disease;
• Mpox will become a preferred term after a one-year transition period. This serves to assuage concerns raised by experts about the confusion a quick name change can cause amid a global outbreak;
• The name “mpox” will be virtually included in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) in the coming days;
• The term “monkeypox” will still be in the CID records to match historical information.

This update of the classification of a disease can take several years, but it was accelerated for this case, pointed out the WHO.

“The issue of using the new name in different languages ​​was widely discussed. The preferred term mpox may be used in other languages. If additional naming issues arise, they will be resolved through the same mechanism. Translations are generally discussed in formal collaboration with relevant government authorities and related scientific societies,” states the press release.

“WHO will adopt the term mpx in its communications and encourage others to follow these recommendations, to minimize any continued negative impact of the current name and the adoption of the new name,” concludes the Organization.