As part of ongoing efforts to align the names of the monkeypox disease, virus, and variants—or clades—with current best practices, a group of global experts convened by WHO has agreed on new names for monkeypox virus variants. They agreed to name the clades using Roman numerals.
New Names for Monkeypox Virus The monkeypox virus was named upon first discovery in 1958. This was before current best practices in naming diseases and viruses were adopted. This is also true for the name of the disease it causes. Major variants were identified by the geographic regions where they were known to circulate. Current best practice is that newly-identified viruses, related disease, and virus variants should be given names with the aim to avoid causing offense to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional, or ethnic groups, and minimize any negative impact on trade, travel, tourism, or animal welfare. Disease: Assigning new names to existing diseases is the responsibility of WHO under the International Classification of Diseases and the WHO Family of International Health Related Classifications (WHO-FIC). WHO is holding an open consultation for a new disease name for monkeypox
New Names for Monkeypox Virus , The International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) is responsible for naming virus species. ICTV currently has a process underway for the name of the monkeypox virus. The naming of variants for existing pathogens is typically the result of debate amongst scientists. In order to expedite agreement in the context of the current outbreak, WHO convened an ad hoc meeting on August 8 to enable virologists and public health experts to reach consensus on new terminology. Experts in pox virology, evolutionary biology, and representatives of research institutes from across the globe reviewed the phylogeny and nomenclature of known and new monkeypox virus variants or clades. They discussed the characteristics and evolution of monkeypox virus variants, their apparent phylogenetic and clinical differences, and potential consequences for public health and future virological and evolutionary research.
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