MPX? Mpox? The struggle to replace ‘monkeypox’ with a name that isn’t racist

Some people argue that the name is racist and disparages an entire continent. “Monkeypox is kind of a strange name to give to a disease that’s now afflicting humans,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s leading expert on infectious diseases. “We’ve seen certain disease names provoke a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities, create unjustified barriers to travel, commerce and trade, and trigger needless slaughtering of food animals,” he said. But the “monkey” part would “suggest it infects monkeys.” She said the public will easily adapt to a new name once there’s a consensus about what that should be. There are people called Magnus, and they shouldn’t have their names associated with this disease.” To another proposing “Pox22”: “Monkeypox was first discovered in humans in 1970, so Pox70 would fit better if you wanted to name it like COVID-19.” And regarding “tinypox”: “monkeypox lesions are even bigger than smallpox ones, so tiny is out of the question.” RÉZO Santé, a Montreal-based nonprofit that provides health services to the queer community, submitted a proposal to adopt “Mpox,” a name generated by an alliance of Canadian LGBTQ organizations.