To avoid stigma, the World Health Organization (WHO) chose last month to rename monkeypox to mpox.
The spread of the disease was greatest in western and central Africa and the transmission of the virus has mainly occurred during sex between men. The WHO stated that the name was also used in racist language, both online and in other parts of society.
After an investigation, the National Board of Health and Welfare now chooses to follow the same line: monkeypox becomes mpox in Sweden as well.
— It emerged quite soon that mpox has already started to be used in the few clinics that treat patients with this disease. Then it is an unusual disease in Sweden, but it has an international spread and then it is an advantage to use the same name, says Magdalena Fresk from the classification and terminology unit at the National Board of Health and Welfare.
Officially, the name change goes through at the turn of the year when the authority updates the database with codes that classify and group diseases.