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The World Health Organization says it is holding an open forum Rename the monkey boxAfter some critics raised concerns that the name could be considered prejudicial and stigmatizing.
The WHO said the decision was made after meeting with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which “helps identify best practices for naming new human diseases to avoid offending any cultural, social, national, regional, professional or ethnic groups, and Minimize the negative impact on trade, travel, tourism or animal welfare.”
In a statement on Friday, The UN Health Organization To avoid stigma, it has renamed two families, or clades, of the virus, using Roman numerals instead of geographic regions.
Monkeypox: What you need to know about the virus – how to protect yourself
The version of the disease formerly known as the Congo Basin is now known as clade one or I and the West African clade as clade two or II.
WHO said the new names for the clades will come into effect immediately while the new names for the disease and virus are being worked on. Anyone wishing to submit a name suggestion can do so, WHO said Their website.
The conclusion comes later A group of scientists It proposed an “urgent” name change in June, calling the current name “discriminatory and stigmatizing.”
The new name, they proposed, would “minimize negative impacts on countries, geographic regions, economies and populations and take into account the evolution and spread of the virus.”
Scientists proposed a neutral name for the evolution of the virus.
“In the context of the current global outbreak, the continued attribution and naming of the virus as African is not only inaccurate, but also discriminatory and stigmatizing. The most obvious manifestation of this is the use of photos of African patients to portray pox. sores in mainstream media in the Global North,” they said. In a joint statement.
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Although two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in 1958 in colonies where monkeys were kept for research, the Centers for Disease Control notes that the source of monkey pox is unknown, despite the virus being named.
Before 2022, monkey box cases were always attached For international travel In countries where the disease is common or through imported animals. The first human case was in 1970.
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“What people need to be very clear about is human-to-human transmission. It’s close contact transmission. So there should be concern about where it’s spreading in the human population and what humans can do to protect themselves. They certainly shouldn’t be.” Attacks any animalWHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said on Tuesday.
