The World Health Organization supports coming up for a new name for monkeypox amid a call from a group of scientists to use less discriminatory terminology to describe the infections popping up in more and more places around the globe.
Scientists calling for a shift in how we talk about the virus point to its clades — or strains — having pre-existing names relating to African regions (West African and Congo Basin), which are both stigmatizing and inaccurate in reflecting the nature of the current spread of the virus.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this week that the UN health organization is “working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the name of monkeypox virus, its clades and the disease it causes.”
The scientists believe changing how we communicate about the disease would promote more sharing of knowledge about outbreaks and could help minimize negative impacts.
Emma Hodcroft, a molecular epidemiologist and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Bern’s Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, is among the scientists calling for changes in how the clades are described.
A centrifuge device is used to prepare suspected monkeypox samples for testing at the microbiology laboratory of La Paz Hospital in Madrid, earlier this month. Scientists are calling for a shift in how we talk about the virus, noting that current geographical names for certain strains are both stigmatizing and inaccurate. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
“The main harm here is for African people, who are stigmatized by the association that monkeypox is endemic in humans in the regions where the old clades are named after,” Hodcroft told CBC News in an email.
Hodcroft and the other scientists pointed to media reports that have used stock images of African monkeypox patients as part of coverage of the outbreak occurring in Europe as “an obvious manifestation” of this stigmatization.
The scientists are proposing that the clades be named numerically in their order of discovery — for example, MPXV 1, MPXV 2 or MPXV 3 — rather than with a geographic identifier.
But that’s just one way the current outbreak differs from previous ones.
The scientists advocating for the change in clade names point out that the virus is currently spreading from human to human and not via spillover events from animals to humans, as it typically has in the past.
That rings true for Stephen Hoption Cann, a clinical professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health.
“This is completely different in how it’s spreading,” he told CBC News in an interview, noting prior spread of the virus has been much more limited geographically.
Separate from the consideration of the future name of the virus, WHO is set to meet next week to assess whether the current outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.
Where does the current name come from?
According to WHO, the monkeypox virus was first discovered in laboratory monkeys — hence the name — in a Copenhagen research facility in 1958. Human monkeypox was first identified 12 years later.
Under these naming practices, WHO said the aim is to “minimize unnecessary negative impact” on people, places and cultures, among other considerations.
Rosamund Lewis, WHO’s technical lead for monkeypox, said the process of renaming of the disease “may not be as straightforward” as it would be for a disease that the world is otherwise unfamiliar with.
“It’s a disease that has been commented on, published on for, well, 50 years now or more,” Lewis told CBC News Network in an interview on Friday.
WATCH | Fighting stigma when getting out the message about monkeypox:
‘Absolutely critical’ to overcome stigma during monkeypox outbreak, says WHO expert
10 hours ago
Duration 5:35
Dr. Rosamund Lewis, WHO technical lead on monkeypox, says it’s crucial to work with affected communities to develop public heath messages without stigmatization.
Heidi Tworek, an associate professor in international history and public policy at the University of British Columbia, believes a renaming push could proceed smoothly, particularly after WHO’s efforts in naming various COVID variants.
“The WHO’s success in renaming COVID variants from place-based into the Greek alphabet shows that it is possible to change how journalists write about a disease,” Tworek told CBC News in an email.
The precise timeline for any renaming of the monkeypox virus is unclear.
According to WHO, “the naming of viruses is the responsibility of the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses.” They said the process to rename the wider group of orthopox virus species — which includes both smallpox and monkeypox — is already underway.
In terms of changing the names of monkeypox clades, which is what the group of scientists are formally calling for, WHO says it is consulting “with experts and technical advisory groups in poxvirology and viral evolution.”
Hodcroft, the molecular epidemiologist, said the existing naming method may have seemed “reasonable” at one time, but it isn’t now.
“We now know these aren’t even very useful geographical descriptions — cases can be found outside of these areas, and not all places within these areas have cases,” she said.
“What they do leave behind however, is stigma attached to the fear of monkeypox and who may be ‘to blame.’ ”
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
