Monkeypox will be renamed following calls for a new ‘non-discriminatory and non-stigmatising’ term, it emerged today.

The World Health Organization (WHO) promised a new name for the rash-causing virus, endemic to Africa, would be announced ‘as soon as possible’.

As well as renaming the actual pathogen itself, strains will likely be lettered, such as A or B, to remove any mention of the parts of Africa where they were first spotted.

Over 30 researchers last week signed a position paper stating there was an ‘urgent need’ to change its name given the current outbreak, which has mainly struck gay and bisexual men.

It has already swept the world to strike 45 countries, including Britain, the US, Spain and Portugal.

They wrote: ‘Continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatizing.’

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, has confirmed the virus will be renamed.

He said: ‘[The] WHO is working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the name of monkeypox virus, its clades, and the disease it causes.

‘We will make announcements about the new names as soon as possible.’

Monkeypox was first discovered when an outbreak of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research in 1958.

Its naming system currently divides it into two types, the West African version and Central African or Congo Basin version.

But experts want them to be replaced with numbers, like MPXV1, MPXV2 and so forth.

Naming viruses geographically goes against WHO guidelines because of concerns it may spark abusive backlash or potential racism.

It is, for this reason, that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid) was not called the Wuhan coronavirus, despite originating in the Chinese city of the same name.

Writing in a paper published last week, the coalition of infectious disease researchers from around the world also proposed creating a new ‘clade’ for the current outbreak.

They argue the virus circulating at present has become a distinct ‘human virus’, compared to MPXV, which rarely transmitted between people. The new type, the experts claimed, should be called hMPXV and lineages should be referred to as A, A.1, A.1.1, B.1.

They gave four examples because of data showing the West African strain has evolved slightly, based on samples collected in small human-to-human outbreaks over the past few years.

The naming system would be similar system to that used for Covid variants like Omicron, with Britain hit by a wave of BA.2 and now experiencing an uptick in cases of BA.4 and BA.5.

One benefit of ditching geographic terms would be encouraging countries to continue monitoring for and raising the alarm when spotting new diseases, rather than having their name negatively attached to it, the scientists said.

The responsibility of renaming monkeypox actually lies with the International Committee of Taxonomy of Viruses, a committee tasked with formally labelling pathogens.

It is not the first time concerns about monkeypox and racism have been raised.

Last month the Foreign Press Association, Africa, a media body for journalists on the continent, urged Western media to stop using photos of black people alongside monkeypox stories describing the outbreak in Europe and North America.

They accused such outlets of perpetuating ‘negative stereotypes that assigns calamity to the African race and privilege of immunity to other races.’

They instead urged reports on monkeypox to instead use images of hospitals in their own countries or of graphical representations of the virus itself.

Calls to rename monkeypox echo those made regarding Covid after people, such as former US President Donald Trump, started referring to it as the China or Wuhan virus in 2020, shortly after the virus began spreading internationally.

They instead urged reports on monkeypox to instead use images of hospitals in their own countries or of graphical representations of the virus itself.

Calls to rename monkeypox echo those made regarding Covid after people, such as former US President Donald Trump, started referring to it as the China or Wuhan virus in 2020, shortly after the virus began spreading internationally.

The current term monkeypox is already somewhat misleading as while the virus was first discovered in macaques, many cases are believed to be transmitted to humans by rodents.

A large proportion of cases so far have been identified in the gay, bisexual and men who have sex with other men community. But anyone can get monkeypox if they have had close contact with an infected person.

Monkeypox is not normally a sexually-transmitted infection, but it can be passed on by direct contact during sex. It can also be spread through touching clothing, bedding or towels used by someone with the monkeypox rash.

The disease is usually mild but can cause severe illness in some cases.

It kills up to 10 per cent of cases. But this high rate is thought to be in part due to a historic lack of testing meaning that a tenth of known cases have died rather than a tenth of all infections.

With milder strains, the fatality rate is closer to one in 100 — similar to when Covid first hit.

Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, which then spreads to other parts of the body including the genitals.

Dr Ghebreyesus said that 1,600 confirmed monkeypox cases and 1,500 suspected cases have been reported to the WHO this year from 39 countries, 32 of which have been recently hit by the virus.

But other experts tracking the outbreak say at least 45 nations have logged cases or suspected cases.

While 72 deaths have been reported in countries where monkeypox was already endemic, none have been seen in the newly affected countries, Dr Tedros said.

However, he added that the WHO is seeking to verify news reports from Brazil of a monkeypox-related death there.

The UN agency will hold an emergency meeting next week to determine whether to classify the global outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern. Only six PHEICs have been declared in the past, with the most recent being Covid.

Officials are scrambling to contain the tropical virus, amid fears it could become endemic in Europe too unless it is stamped out soon.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) bosses have logged 524 cases in Britain.