Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, said the organization was “working with partners and experts around the world to change the name of the monkey pox virus, its branches and the disease it causes”. The move comes after scientists called for an “urgent” name change, which they described as “inaccurate”, “biased” and “stigmatizing” in a report published last week. An announcement of the new name will be made “as soon as possible,” Tedros said. Similar concerns were raised at the height of the coronavirus pandemic when new variants of Covid were named after the countries or regions where they were first identified, leading to travel bans and other restrictions. In response, the WHO introduced a naming system that referred to the new variants as letters of the Greek alphabet. In the report, scientists express concern that the “prevailing perception” in the media and scientific literature is that aphid virus is endemic to humans in some African countries, while the virus is found in the vast majority of animals, which historically have triggered occasional cases. infects people. Scientists warn of “a growing narrative in the media and among many scientists trying to link the current global epidemic to Africa or West Africa or Nigeria.” While the UK Health and Safety Service was sounding the alarm for the first time since a person with monkey pox arrived in London from Nigeria on May 4, the virus had been spreading for some time, mainly among men having sex with men. The WHO currently refers to two types of aphids, namely “West Africa” and the “Congo Basin (Central African)”. This year’s outbreak is due to the first type, which is essentially less dangerous than the second. “In the context of the current global epidemic, the constant reporting and nomenclature of this African virus is not only inaccurate, but also discriminatory and stigmatizing,” the experts wrote. They continue to criticize the use of photographs of African smallpox patients to cover the epidemic in the global North. In the report, scientists use the name “hMPXV” for the human aphid virus as a placebo symbol to distinguish the virus that causes the current international outbreak in humans from the virus most commonly found in animals. On Wednesday, WHO Director-General for Europe Dr Hans Kluge said the scale of the epidemic was “in real danger”, telling the media: “The more the virus circulates, the more it will expand and the soil of the disease is stronger. will take in non-endemic countries. He called on “governments, health partners and civil society” to “act urgently” to “control this outbreak”. At the same time, Steve Taylor, a member of the board of directors of European Pride, said that LGBTQ + events should not be closed in the light of the epidemic, but should be used to spread public health messages about monkey pox. He said about 750 Pride events were to take place in Europe this summer. “We have been working with the WHO in recent weeks to spread our message and encourage Pride organizations across Europe to use their events to raise awareness about monkey pox so that people can be protected.” he said. “Unfortunately, but quite predictably, some of those who oppose Pride and who oppose equality and human rights have already tried to use monkey pox as an excuse for calls to ban Pride. “We are pleased that the WHO guidance is clear that Pride and major events should not be affected and are in fact opportunities to share important public health messages,” he added. The UKHSA reported 52 more cases of monkey pox in England on Wednesday, another in Scotland and another in Wales, bringing the total in the United Kingdom to 524 on 14 June. More than 1,800 cases of smallpox have been confirmed in dozens of non-African countries in the latest outbreak. The UKHSA has encouraged people to contact a sexual health clinic if they have developed a blistering rash and have had close contact, including sexual contact, with someone who has had or could have had monkey pox in the past three weeks or has been in the West. or Central Africa in the last three weeks. The WHO will convene an emergency meeting of monkey pox experts next week to advise on whether the current outbreak is an emergency for public health of international interest, which means it requires a coordinated response.
