Monkeypox between dermatology and anthropology: a model for evolutionary medicine

In their recent communication, Czinn and Hoenig offered a useful overview of the history of the names used in contemporary medicine to refer to such diseases as smallpox, monkeypox, chickenpox and syphilis, detailing when both technical and more popular definitions emerged in the past.1 With special reference to smallpox, syphilis and chickenpox, their work provides a link with current research on their antiquity and evolution.2,3 With reference to the present monkeypox epidemic, we concur with the authors that, following the guidelines of the WHO, one should be concerned that “we do not use the monkeypox outbreak to discriminate against a continent or to stigmatize a particular demographic group”.
Source: Clinics in Dermatology - Category: Dermatology Authors: Tags: CORRESPONDENCE Source Type: research