Yesterday Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), announced the WHO was officially changing the name of the monkeypox virus.
This decision was allegedly taken due to “stigmatization” and “discrimination” of the current “inaccurate” name. I’m not sure how “monkeypox virus” can be an inaccurate name for a virus allegedly found in monkeys that allegedly causes pox, but that is the contention of the “experts” who called for an “urgent name change” in this report from last week.
In the context of the current global outbreak, continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatising