Health experts through the World Health Organization (WHO) have come up with new names for monkeypox strains using Roman numerals, according to a release sent Friday.
A global group of virologists and public health experts met on Monday and decided to use Roman numerals for the group – or strain – and a lowercase alphanumeric character for the subclasses or subgroup.
The former monkeypox area of the Congo Basin (Central Africa) will now be known as Area one (I) and the former West Africa region as Area two (II). In addition, WHO has agreed that Clade II includes two subclasses, WHO said.
Scientists have called for a change in the way we talk about monkeypox and its strains to use less distinctive terminology to describe infections that are exploding across the globe.
Scientists believe that changing the way we communicate about the disease will promote greater knowledge sharing about outbreaks and could help mitigate negative effects.
WHO officials say the name changes are more in line with the current naming used today.
According to the WHO, monkeypox virus was first detected in laboratory monkeys – hence the name – at a research facility in Copenhagen in 1958. Human monkeypox was first identified. fixed 12 years later.
The global health organization now names new viruses with the aim of not offending any cultural, social, national, regional, occupational or ethnic group, a WHO statement sent on Thursday said. Six said.
WHO is also consulting to name a new disease for monkeypox.
