The California Public Health Department said Wednesday that it will refer to the virus as Monkeypox on the first reference in written communication and the abbreviation -MPX, pronounced M-pox, on all further references and when speaking.
This is an effort to address concerns about stigmatization and racist connotations associated with the name, according to state Public Health Officer and California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Tomas Aragon. He says the World Health Organization, or WHO, is considering renaming the disease.
WHO issued a set of best practices in 2015 for the naming of diseases. It recommended that geographic locations, people's names, animal species, food, culture, and populations be avoided in the common names of viruses and diseases.
As of Wednesday, more than 3,000 probable and confirmed cases of Monkeypox have been reported statewide.
San Francisco continues to have the second-most reported cases in the state at 656.
