mpox

"Removing 'monkey' removes the stigma that monkeypox comes with," an expert tells NPR. But he questions why the World Health Organization will wait a year for the change to take full effect.

Researchers say diseases that spread between humans and animals will become increasingly commonplace as human expansion into previously uninhabited areas intensifies.

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma started developing a monitoring program in 2020. Now, they're working with state health officials to scan for about a dozen pathogens.

Monkeypox is spreading primarily among gay and bisexual men, and owners of bars that serve that community feel well-positioned to share information without adding to stigma against LGBTQ people.

Despite the possibility of stigmatizing queer sex, experts say it's important to keep sex at the center of the conversation around monkeypox.

Animal carriers of the virus include various rodents, dogs, primates, hedgehogs and shrews, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Subsequent variants of monkeypox will be named using Roman numerals for the clade, and lowercase letters for the subclade.

The state’s strategy for containing the disease involves rapidly vaccinating people who have already come into contact with the virus.

The Biden administration is allowing the shot to be given between layers of skin — a method that only requires a fifth of the full dose — in order to increase vaccinations and slow the outbreak.

Wastewater testing has proved a reliable early alarm bell for COVID-19 outbreaks. U.S. researchers are now adapting the approach to track the explosive spread of monkeypox, and maybe other viruses.