Published 16th Aug, 2022

By Opeyemi Lawal

The World Health Organization (WHO) wants to rename the fast-spreading monkeypox virus because of the stigmatisation of the primate it was named after.

On Tuesday, the organisation asked the public to submit name ideas, as there had been concerns about the name of the virus for months.

Experts think monkeys might become targets of harm because of the virus, although they are not responsible for its spread.

“Human monkeypox was given its name before current best practices in naming diseases,” WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told reporters in Geneva. “We want really to find a name that is not stigmatising.”

FIJ learnt that there had been cases of attacks on monkeys in Brazil because of beliefs that they spread the virus.

Chaib said everyone was welcome to suggest a name through a dedicated website: https://icd.who.int/dev11.

Across the world, over 31,000 cases of monkeypox have been recorded, while 12 people have died from the disease since the beginning of 2022.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, had announced in June that the organisation was working with partners and experts from around the world to change the name of the virus.

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