[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] The domestic disease name for 'Monkeypox' will be changed to 'Mpox' following the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation.
The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced on the 14th that this decision was made after an expert advisory meeting held remotely on the 7th. Last month, the WHO recommended changing the disease name from ‘Monkeypox’ to Mpox, stating that ‘Monkeypox’ was being used as a discriminatory and stigmatizing term against certain groups, races, and regions. The WHO has been using both Monkeypox and Mpox concurrently for one year.
Im Sook-young, head of the CDCH Situation Management Division, explained, "Our country will also change the term Monkeypox to the neutral term Mpox in accordance with the WHO recommendation and will have a six-month grace period during which both ‘Mpox’ and ‘Monkeypox’ will be used together." The government plans to minimize confusion such as difficulties in data searches caused by the name change through prompt follow-up measures, including revising related notifications and response guidelines during the grace period.
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