In a post yesterday, it was noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) was planning to change the name of monkeypox virus due to stigmatization. The agency wrote in a statement that a group of global health experts have agreed “on new names for monkeypox virus variants, as part of ongoing efforts to align the names of the monkeypox disease, virus and variants—or clades—with current best practices. The experts agreed to name the clades using Roman numerals”.

Forbes lists the following highlights of the WHO decision:

• “The WHO created an open forum for proposals to alternatives for the name change of the monkeypox virus.
• “The U.N. health organization has renamed two “clades,” or families of the monkeypox virus to avoid the stigma associated with geographical names: The variant formerly known as “Congo Basin” will now be referred to as “Clade one or I” and the “West Africa” variant will be known as “Clade two or II.”
• “The WHO met with several scientists this week to discuss best naming practices for diseases, in order to avoid ”causing offense” to any “ethnic, social or professional” groups, and minimize harm to trade, travel, tourism or animals.
• “The organization did not mention renaming other geographically-based disease names, like the Spanish influenza, or the Middle Eastern Respiratory System.
• “The new names for the clades should go into effect immediately, according to the statement.

Who wrote in the announcement “Current best practise is that newly-identified viruses, related disease, and virus variants should be given names with the aim to avoid causing offense to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional, or ethnic groups, and minimize any negative impact on trade, travel, tourism or animal welfare.”

Global health scientists reportedly believe “changing how we communicate about the disease will promote more sharing of knowledge about outbreaks and could help minimize negative impacts”.