Monkeypox has erupted outside of Africa since May and now has more than 32,000 cases worldwide.
Among them, Brazil can be regarded as one of the hardest hit areas, with more than 2,000 cases and 1 death so far.
Thereupon...... The monkeys in Brazil were very unlucky.
Sounds a bit out of place, but it's true:
Some people feel that "monkey" pox must be inseparable from monkeys.
What if I get infected?
Then they moved towards the monkeys...
Recently, three cases of monkeypox were diagnosed in Rio Preto, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.
In less than a week, ten monkeys were injured in the area's nature reserve, some poisoned, some injured, and only three survived.
The injured one was still wrapped in gauze, and his mental state was visible to the naked eye.
The corners of his mouth were still covered with blood.
Officials have found a trap for monkey hunting nearby, and two capuchin monkeys have signs of poisoning and have been taken to veterinary hospitals.
To prevent the recurrence of such incidents, officials have stepped up patrols, and the police have launched an investigation into the dead monkeys, and if they are deliberately abused, the culprits face criminal penalties.
In Brazil, the penalties for animal cruelty range from 3 months to 1 year. If the animal dies, the punishment goes further.
In fact, this is not even the first time that monkeys have been deliberately murdered, according to a Brazilian expert, since the news of monkeypox appeared, there have been several similar things in many places in Brazil, some monkeys have been stoned, some have been injured or even killed, some have been poisoned...
The motivation for people to kill monkeys is only the fear that they will "spread monkey pox".
In fact, monkeypox viruses are present in many animals, the most common being rodents.
The name was given because the monkeypox virus was originally found in monkeys, which were raised by a Danish institution for research purposes.
But the actual source of the virus is unclear, and monkeys are not the main carriers of the disease.
In other words, they are quite innocent ...
The WHO also had to stand up for this big oolong, saying that although the virus can be transmitted by animals, the outbreak is transmitted by close contact between people.
To date, there is no evidence of any association between this outbreak and monkeys....
And now the most important thing is not to stigmatize any animals and patients.
Otherwise, people will worry that they have become an outlier and do not go to the hospital when they have symptoms, which will create a greater risk of transmission.
In June, a group of scientists wrote a joint statement saying that the name "monkeypox" was "suspected of discrimination and stigmatization" and that it was urgent to change its name.
Coupled with the recent frequent monkey killings, WHO is working with experts to give monkeypox a new name, a name that is neither discriminatory nor stigmatized.
They also went public on Twitter in the hope that the public would brainstorm:
This is still ongoing, but they say an announcement will be made soon.
I hope that when the time comes, there will be no more monkeys who will be killed, and no one will be discriminated against because of their illness...