• International

WHO plans to change the name of monkeypox

  • International
  • 23 November, 2022 10:25:09

Photo: Collected

International Desk: A year ago, when the fear of the coronavirus epidemic was not completely over, there was concern about monkeypox infection around the world. And since the beginning of this year, monkeypox patients have been detected in many countries in several regions of the world including North America, Europe.

However, monkeypox infections have been on the decline in recent months and the World Health Organization (WHO) is planning to change the name of the contagious virus. Reuters reported this information in a report on Wednesday (November 23).

According to the report, the World Health Organization is planning to change the name of monkeypox, which entered the United States earlier this year. WHO has even designated a new name for this infectious virus. And that is - 'MPOX' or MPOX.

Reuters also reported that Politico brought the information to light in a report on Tuesday, citing several people with knowledge of the matter.

Politico also reported that the decision to rename Monkeypox could be announced as early as Wednesday. This decision was made by the WHO mainly due to the increasing pressure from the senior officials of the administration of US President Joe Biden.

The Politico report claims that Biden officials personally urged WHO leaders to change the name of monkeypox.

Note that Monkeypox is a viral disease. A virus of the smallpox virus class is responsible for the disease. There are two variants of the virus — Central African and West African.

Symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, sweating, back pain, muscle tension and fatigue. In the first stage, the patient develops fever, along with blisters on the body and in most cases a rash on the face. Later spread to other parts of the body; Especially on the palms of the hands and feet.

According to a US public health official, this viral infection is related to smallpox. But the infection is usually mild. The West African strain of the virus is particularly mild; which was identified in the United States. The fatality rate of those infected with this species is about 1 percent. Most people recover completely within two to four weeks.

Also, no specific vaccine or medicine has been discovered for monkeypox yet. However, the WHO has previously reported that the vaccine used for smallpox is 85 percent effective in preventing monkeypox.

In the middle of this year, the UK began vaccinating healthcare workers who are most at risk of contracting the virus while caring for patients.

 

Comments (0)

Comment ( 0)





  • company_logo