New York City is asking the World Health Organization to rename the monkeypox virus, warning that it is a misnomer and might stigmatize residents afflicted with the surging disease.
City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said New York finds itself at the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S., which is one of dozens of non-endemic countries battling the virus. Monkeypox is rarely fatal but causes a painful rash.
“We have a growing concern for the potentially devastating and stigmatizing effects that the messaging around the ‘monkeypox’ virus can have on these already vulnerable communities,” Dr. Vasan told WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a letter.