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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reverted to the term "monkeypox" for the disease it had adopted as "mpox" in 2022, aligning with the virus's scientific name but diverging from the World Health Organization's nomenclature.
The change appeared on the CDC website in late September 2025, without a formal announcement or explanation from the agency, according to Department of Health and Human Services officials. The HHS oversees the CDC.
The World Health Organization adopted "mpox" in November 2022 to replace "monkeypox," a name in use since 1958 that originated from lab observations in monkeys but was inaccurate for transmission, primarily by rodents, and carried racist connotations, the WHO said at the time.
HHS spokesperson Wayne Pitts said in an email, "Monkeypox is the name of the viral disease caused by the monkeypox virus."
The virus, Orthopoxvirus monkeypox, causes mpox, a relative of smallpox with symptoms including rash and fever. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses updated the species name to Orthopoxvirus monkeypox in 2023, HHS officials said.
Dr. Joseph Cherabie, an infectious diseases expert at Washington University in St. Louis, said, "The first question is: 'Why?' It doesn't make any sense."
Dr. Balkissa Fanta, an infectious disease specialist at Northwestern University, said the reversion could exacerbate stigma, particularly among Black and African communities.
The change followed the Trump administration's return to office in January 2025, though officials did not link it to policy shifts. The CDC continues to use "mpox" in some materials updated in April 2025.
HHS officials were not immediately available for further comment on implementation or global coordination.
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