WHO announces new names for variants of monkeypox virus

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced new names for variants of the monkeypox virus that are currently in circulation.

The former Congo Basin clade (group of variants) in Central Africa as Clade I. The former West African clade as Clade II.

The latter consists of two sub-clades, Clade IIa and Clade IIb, of which Clade IIb was the main group of variants circulating during the 2022 outbreak. The monkeypox virus was first discovered in 1958.