The World Health Organization says it's holding an open forum to rename the disease monkeypox, after some critics raised concerns the name could be derogatory or have racist connotations.

世界卫生组织表示，正举行一个公开论坛来重新命名猴痘。此前一些批评人士担心该名称可能带有贬义或种族主义色彩。

derogatory adj. 贬义的;不敬的

据路透社16日报道，通常情况下，疾病名称是由技术委员会闭门选择的，但这一次世界卫生组织决定公开征集猴痘病毒新名称。世界卫生组织已经收到学者、医生等不同群体提出的数十个命名建议。

哈佛大学医学院急诊医师杰里米·福斯特提交了一个“技术流”名称OPOXID-22;加拿大一个男性健康组织主管塞缪尔·米列洛提交的新名称Mpox是目前最受欢迎的建议之一。

"When you remove the monkey imagery, people seem to understand more quickly that there's an emergency that needs to be taken seriously," he told Reuters.

米列洛指出，“消除猴子的形象，似乎能使人们更快认识到这是需要认真对待的紧急情况。”

另一个名字Trump-22似乎是针对美国前总统唐纳德·特朗普的，因为他曾使用有争议的术语“中国病毒”来指代新型冠状病毒。尽管该命名的作者表示，它代表了“2022年未知来源的神秘有毒皮疹”。

Another proposal, Trump-22, appeared to be refer to former US president Donald Trump who used the controversial term “Chinese virus” for the new coronavirus, although its author said it stood for “Toxic Rash of Unrecognised Mysterious Provenance of 2022”.

批评人士认为，猴痘之名有误导性，因为猴子并非这种病毒的主要宿主。一些知名科学家6月联名呼吁为猴痘更名，要求新名称“中立、不歧视、不污名化”。

Pressure is growing for a new name for the disease, in part because critics say it is misleading, since monkeys are not the original animal host.

A group of leading scientists wrote a position paper in June calling for a name that was "neutral, non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing" amid fears the name can be used in a racist way.

stigmatize v. 使受耻辱;侮辱;

世卫组织发言人法德拉·沙伊卜16日说，“为猴痘找到一个新名称非常重要”，要确保它不冒犯任何特定人群、动物、国家、地区等。

猴痘先前主要在西非和中非地区流行。今年5月以来，不少非洲以外国家和地区相继报告猴痘病例。世卫组织7月23日宣布，今年多国猴痘疫情构成“国际关注的突发公共卫生事件”。

The WHO declared the current outbreak a public health emergency last month having reported more than 32,000 cases from over 80 countries.