Because of negative connotations and stigma associated with the term "monkeypox," WHO will fade out the term and use "mpox" in its place.
This article first appeared on Contagionlive.com.
World Health Organization (WHO) announced it has recommended changing the name of monkeypox to mpox. Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while “monkeypox” is phased out.
The organization announced several months ago they were looking to rename the virus as it had some negative connotations and stigma associated with it. The WHO will adopt the term mpox in its communications and encourages others to follow these recommendations to minimize any ongoing negative impact of the current name and from adoption of the new name.
According to a WHO statement, the organization recommends the following:
Assigning names to new and, very exceptionally, to existing diseases is the responsibility of WHO under the ICD and the WHO Family of International Health Related Classifications through a consultative process, which includes WHO Member States.
WHO, in accordance with the ICD update process, held consultations to gather views from a range of experts, as well as countries and the general public, who were invited to submit suggestions for new names.
Back in the summer, both the Biden Administration and the WHO declared monkeypox as public health emergencies as the incidence rates increased dramatically in different hot spots across the globe.
Although caseloads have been decreasing in the last several weeks, a public health concern remains as it is seemingly mysterious why the outbreak started earlier this year in the first place.
Treatment
CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) developed a process to help clinicians secure an antiviral therapy, tecovirimat (Tpoxx), for monkeypox treatment. This falls under the expanded access investigational new drug (EA-IND). Clinicians can secure tecovirimat by going here.
Tecovirimat is manufactured by SIGA Technologies, and is approved for smallpox and is being studied for monkeypox treatment. Infection Control Today®’s sister brand, ContagionLive®, spoke with SIGA Technologies Chief Scientific Officer Dennis Hruby, PhD, earlier this year about the therapy.
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