According to the World Health Organization, the deletion of the term “monkey” (“monkey”) was decided after considering the scientific and health communities of 45 countries
THE World Health Organization 🇧🇷WHO) recommended this Monday 28, that the monkeypox be treated just like”mpox” and replace “monkeypox‘, which has been used in English since the middle of this year, when the disease spread around the world. The organization says it consulted various health, statistical, scientific and government authorities from 45 countries before making its decision.
“As the monkeypox epidemic spread earlier this year, racist and stigmatizing language online, in other settings and in some communities was observed and reported to WHO. We are concerned and have asked WHO to propose a way to proceed with the name change,” the organization said in an official statement.
The recommendation for use of the term mpox was decided after WHO considered “the scientific and rational adequacy, range of current use, pronunciation, use in different languages, absence of geographical or zoology and the ease of retrieval of scientific and historical information”.
The organization also stressed that the term “monkeypox” will continue to be used and recognized for another year, until it “gradually ends”, and will still be present in the cida International classification of diseases🇧🇷 “Usually, the ICD update process can take several years. In this case, the process has been expedited despite the standard steps.”
“WHO will adopt the term mpox in its communications and encourage others to follow these recommendations to minimize any continued negative impact of the current name,” he added. Since the first half of this year, when it began to spread across Europe and reach America, scientists, health professionals and authorities have warned of the danger of stigma attached to associating the disease with monkeys.
The term monkeypox, translated into Portuguese as “monkeypox,” is actually used because primates were the first animals in which the virus was identified. Despite the name, they are not responsible for transmission to humans, which has only been traced to rodents and, especially in the current outbreak, close contact with another infected person.
The WHO recommendations for the new treatment of Mpox are as follows:
- Adoption of new synonym “mpox” to refer to disease in English;
- Mpox will become the preferred term, replacing “monkeypox”, after a one-year transition period. This serves to mitigate concerns raised by experts about the confusion caused by name changes during a global epidemic;
- The term “mpox” will be included in the online version of ICD-10 in the coming days and will enter the official version of ICD-11, released next year;
- “Monkeypox” will still be a traceable term in the CID, to align with historical information.
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Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
