WHO wants to ban the word "monkeypox"

-Monkeys and Africans may feel discriminated against.

The World Health Organization (WHO) wants to change the name of monkeypox disease to "MPXV" and proposes to ban the use of the traditional name in health care.

The word "monkeypox" is causing annoyance among some clever(?) minds at the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the WHO, the current name allegedly stigmatizes "monkeys and Africa" and therefore they want to provide assistance in coming up with a new, politically correct name. Thus the admission of the WHO.

But why the term monkeypox stigmatizes Africa is not explained by the WHO. After all, monkeys occur on all continents of the tropical zone, including South America and Asia, and thus not only in Africa. Even in Europe there are monkeys, namely on the monkey rock named after it, i.e. Gibraltar. The WHO sees an "urgent need for a non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing name for the monkeypox virus," it said in an appeal by the 30 or so initiators.

The fact is that the current outbreak of monkeypox has no clear connection to either Africa or monkeys. There is, however, a connection to Western homosexual men. Quite similar, then, to the initial phase of AIDS, caused by the HIV virus. Some gay groups, however, have already expressed their displeasure at being associated with sex with apes before the WHO's call. They would also much prefer a more neutral name for the virus.

The WHO has now heeded the call and is therefore proposing "MPXV" as the name for the disease in the health service. However, the proposal does not yet seem to have been fully thought through. Because "MPXV" is nothing else than the abbreviation for "Monkeypox Virus". So nothing would be gained by that. Even the clever(?) heads of the WHO seem to realize this, because they write that the "work on a completely neutral name continues."