'Change the name monkeypox': New York urges WHO
The WHO earlier had declared monkeypox a global public health emergency
The WHO earlier had declared monkeypox a global public health emergency
The WHO earlier had declared monkeypox a global public health emergency
The WHO earlier had declared monkeypox a global public health emergency
The city of New York has urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to rename 'monkeypox', citing the "painful and racist history within which terminology like monkeypox is rooted for communities of color". "Continuing to use the term 'monkeypox' to describe the current outbreak may reignite these traumatic feelings of racism and stigma—particularly for Black people and other people of color, as well as members of the LGBTQIA+ communities, and it is possible that they may avoid engaging in vital health care services because of it," said New York City public health commissioner Ashwin Vasan in a letter to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, reported news agency AFP.
Such demands had risen earlier too. AFP had reported the WHO announcing in late June that it was working changing the name of monkeypox and its clades—the "West African", the "Central African", or "Congo Basin".
The WHO earlier had declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern and called on nations to work closely with communities of men who have sex with men and adopt measures that protect the health, human rights and dignity of affected communities. More than 16,000 cases have now been reported from 75 countries and there had been five deaths so far as a result of the outbreak.
Although monkeypox has been established in parts of central and west Africa for decades, it was not known to spark large outbreaks beyond the continent or to spread widely among people until May, when authorities detected dozens of epidemics in Europe, North America and elsewhere.
Initial symptoms of monkeypox typically include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes and a blistery, chickenpox-like rash or lesions—often on the mouth or genitals in the recent cases. Infections are usually mild.
The monkeypox virus can spread through contact with body fluids, sores or items such as clothing and bedding contaminated with the virus. It can also spread from person to person through respiratory droplets, typically in a close setting, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.