The World Health Organization announced that they will be changing the name for the Monkeypox virus that has affected approximately 1600 people in over twenty countries.
This is after over 30 scientists accused the name of being racist and discriminatory towards Africans.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease. This means it is transmitted from an infected animal to a person. It can also spread between people but not as easily. One can get Monkeypox when they come into physical contact with an infected animal, typically Monkeypox is hosted by primates and rodents.
The WHO recommends staying away from wild animals in countries where the virus is endemic, especially if the animals are sick or dead. Humans can transmit Monkeypox between one another while they are displaying symptoms. The bodily fluids, scabs and rashes are particularly infectious and the virus can stick to utensils, clothing and beddings. Since sores in the mouth are also infectious, the disease can also be transmitted through saliva. Lastly, a mother can pass the disease to her unborn child trough the placenta or during child birth.
Monkeypox is indigenous in countries in West and Central Africa. As of the 19th of May, cases of Monkeypox started to be recorded in non-endemic countries across the globe for instance in Australia, Belgium, Italy, UK and USA. The disease was carried by travelers returning from these native countries.
The reason why this disease has been named ‘Monkeypox’ is because it was discovered by Danish scientists who first saw it manifest in monkeys. As a matter of fact, when a human being is diagnosed with Monkeypox, the correct terminology to use is to say they have ‘Human Monkeypox’.
Recently scientists have been causing quite a ruckus over the name and saying that it is racist and discriminatory towards black people and Africans in particular. The irony is, majority of the scientists saying this are not African themselves and are unsure as to whether the African population is in fact offended.
They also say that the naming of this disease violates WHO guidelines that state avoidance of naming diseases after animals or geographic locations. There was a similar fiasco when some of the strains of Covid were being named after the geographic locations in which they were first detected. As a response, WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a statement revealing the organization will be changing the name as soon as possible.
As to whether or not the term is racist, it is not. The name does not call Africans monkeys it just implies that the disease was first found in monkeys. Think of ‘bird flu’, ‘cat scratch’ or ‘mad cow disease’, other zoonotic diseases. In addition, if you google search ‘Monkeypox’ you will find a lot of images of white people affected with the disease so the criticism that all the photos creating awareness around it have black people is also unjust.
