Renaming mpox in Spanish, French, and Portuguese: using language to address stigma and racism

The mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) outbreak in May, 2022, disproportionately affected gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, as well as African, American, and Hispanic communities in high-income countries.1,2 This exacerbated disinformation and hate speech, especially on social media, displaying homophobic, racist, and stigmatising rhetoric.3 In response, WHO recommended renaming monkeypox to mpox in English, with suggestions for other languages. The names assigned to diseases carry material implications, influencing public perception, access to health care, and allocation of resources.6 The history of diseases such as HIV (initially referred to as gay-related immune deficiency, and associated with constructions of promiscuity and racism) or COVID-19 (derogatorily referred to as the China virus) should serve as a warning sign to act: the stigmatising connotations of those terms had tangible impacts on communities and policy that have endured to present day.7,8 In the context of mpox, the persistence of these terms in Spanish, French, and Portuguese fuels harmful stereotypes and exacerbates social and global health inequalities. Furthermore, any action on terminology should be coordinated with actions to address material inequalities in global health, ensuring that affected communities have access to adequate diagnostics, vaccines, treatment, and health care.