A total of 1700 cases of monkey smallpox have been detected worldwide so far resulting in 72 cases of death. Although not as impactful as Covid-19, smallpox is now causing prejudice to the African continent just as Covid-19 initially caused prejudice to China.
After receiving recommendations from 30 of the world's leading scientists, the WHO will change the name of smallpox to a new name that has yet to be announced. Steps were taken after the disease began to be associated with the African continent and the use of the racist term monkey began to spread on social media.
The use of the name monkey smallpox itself is less accurate as the main vector of its spread is through mice.
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