The World Health Organization renamed the two known clades, or lineages, of the monkeypox virus Monday.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the lineages will be referred to going forward using Roman numerals.
“The clade formerly known as the Congo Basin or Central African clade will now be referred to as clade I, while the West African clade will be called clade II,” he said during a news conference.
People line up to receive the monkeypox vaccine at a walk-in clinic at the North Jersey Community Research Initiative in Newark, N.J., Aug. 16, 2022.
Seth Wenig/AP
The WHO has been in talks to rename the virus itself due to concerns about stigmatization.
It comes as an outbreak of monkeypox spreads around the world with more than 35,000 cases reported to the global health agency.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
