The World Health Organization plans to change the name of monkeypox to avoid discrimination and stigmatisation as the disease continues to spread around the world.
The WHO is working with partners and experts from around the world to change the name of the monkeypox virus.
In a report released last week, scientists called for an urgent change to the name, which they said was "inaccurate", "discriminatory" and "stigmatising" Tedros said that the new name would be announced as soon as possible.
When new Covid variant were named after the countries where they were first detected, travel bans and restrictions were put in place. The WHO came up with a naming system that referred to new variations of the Greek alphabet.
In the report, the scientists raise concerns that there is a perception in the media and scientific literature that the monkeypox virus is endemic in humans in some African countries.
Many scientists are trying to link the current global outbreak to Africa or west Africa, according to the scientists. The UK Health Security Agency first raised the alarm after a person with monkeypox arrived in London from Nigeria, but the virus had already been spreading among men who have sex with men.
The "west African" and "Congo basin" clades are currently referred to by the WHO. The current outbreak is driven by the former type which is less dangerous than the latter.
In the context of the current global outbreak, continued reference to the virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discrimination. They criticized the use of photos of African patients with pox in coverage of the outbreak.
The scientists used the name "hMPXV" for the human monkeypox virus as a way of differentiating it from the most common monkeypox virus in animals.
On Wednesday, the WHO's Europe director, Dr Hans Kluge, said the magnitude of the outbreak "poses a real risk". He said that the government, health partners and civil society needed to act quickly to control the outbreak.
Steve Taylor, a board member at European Pride, said at the same briefing that the events should not be closed down because of the outbreak. There will be about 750 Pride events in Europe this summer.
He said that they had been working with the WHO to develop their messages and that they would encourage Pride organizations to use their events to raise awareness of the facts about monkeypox. Some people who oppose Pride and who oppose equality and human rights have already begun using monkeypox as a justification for banning Pride.
Pride and major events should not be affected by the WHO guidance and are opportunities to share important public health messages.
There were 52 more cases of monkeypox in England on Wednesday, one more in Scotland and another in Wales, bringing the UK total to 524. More than 1,700 cases of monkeypox have now been confirmed in dozens of countries.
If a person develops a rash with blisters and they have been in close contact with someone who has or might have had monkeypox in the past three weeks, they should contact a sexual health clinic.
An emergency meeting of experts on monkeypox will be convened by the World Health Organization next week to advise on whether the current outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern.
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