Washington: The World Health Organization (WHO) is considering to rechristen monkeypox virus and it has sought suggestions from the public in this regard on Tuesday. The WHO has asked people to suggest a less intimidating name for the fast-spreading disease. The United Nations health agency has been in concern for weeks to rename the disease that has emerged globally since May.
Significantly, there have been reports of attacks on monkeys as the disease’s name is associated with monkeys.
Experts have warned that the name of the lineage of human-like animals (Primates) may be tarnished due to the name Monkeypox. Experts say that while monkeys have little role in the spread of this disease. Animals were held accountable for the spread of this disease in the African continent.
Website for monkeypox’s new name
“Human monkeypox had already been named before the current best ways of naming diseases,” WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told reporters in Geneva.
Significantly, Monkeypox got this name because its virus was actually identified in monkeys. In 1958, this virus was found in monkeys kept for research in Denmark. However, this disease is also found in many other animals. This disease mostly occurs in rodents.
The disease first spread to humans in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970. Since then, the disease has been limited to some West and Central African countries.