GENEVA: The World Health Organization, which is looking to rename monkeypox, called Tuesday for help from the public in coming up with a less stigmatising designation for the fast-spreading disease.
The UN health agency has for weeks voiced concern about the name of the disease that emerged onto the global stage in May.
Experts warn the name can be stigmatising to the primates it was named after, but who play little role in its spread, and to the African continent that the animals are often associated with.
Recently in Brazil, for instance, there have been reported cases of people attacking monkeys over disease fears.
“Human monkeypox was given its name before current best practices in naming diseases,” WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told reporters in Geneva.
“We want really to find a name that is not stigmatising,” she added, saying the consultation is now open to everyone through a dedicated website: https://icd.who.int/dev11.
Monkeypox received its name because the virus was originally identified in monkeys kept for research in Denmark in 1958, but the disease is found in a number of animals, and most frequently in rodents.
The disease was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the spread among humans since then mainly limited to certain West and Central African countries where it is endemic.
But in May, cases of the disease, which causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, began spreading rapidly around the world, mainly among men who have sex with men.
Worldwide, over 31,000 cases have been confirmed since the start of the year, and 12 people have died, according to the WHO, which has designated the outbreak a global health emergency.
While the virus can jump from animals to humans, WHO experts insist the recent global spread is due to close-contact transmission between humans.
The UN health agency announced last week that a group of experts it had convened had already agreed on new names for monkeypox virus variants, or clades.
Until now, the two main variants have been named after the geographic regions where they were known to circulate, the Congo Basin and West Africa.
The experts agreed to rename them using Roman numerals instead, calling them Clade I and Clade II. A subvariant of Clade II, now known as Clade IIb, is seen as the main culprit behind the ongoing global outbreak.
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WHO turns to public for monkeypox name change
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WHO turns to public for monkeypox name change
- Experts warn the name can be stigmatising to the primates it was named after
India’s wealthy embrace a new luxury symbol: water
- Tap water in India is not fit for human consumption
- Wealthy opt for premium water as wellness craze boosts industry
NEW DELHI: At an Indian gourmet food store, Avanti Mehta is organizing a blind tasting of drinks sourced from France, Italy and India. No, this isn’t wine, it’s water.
Participants use tiny shot glasses to check the minerality, carbonation and salinity in samples of Evian from the French Alps, Perrier from southern France, San Pellegrino from Italy and India’s Aava from the foothills of the Aravalli mountains.
“They will all taste different ... you should be choosing a water that can give you some sort of nutritional value,” said Mehta, who is 32 and calls herself India’s youngest water sommelier, a term usually associated with premium wine. Her family owns the Aava mineral water brand. Premium water is a $400 million business in the world’s most populous nation and is growing bigger as its wealthy see it as a new status symbol that fits in with a spreading wellness craze.
Premium Indian mineral water costs around $1 for a one-liter bottle, while imported brands are upwards of $3, or 15 times the price of the country’s lowest-priced basic bottled water.
Clean water is a privilege in the country of 1.4 billion people where researchers say 70 percent of the groundwater is contaminated. Tap water remains unfit to drink, and 16 people died in Indore city after consuming contaminated tap water in December.
Many in India see bottled water as a necessity and standard 20 US-cent bottles are available widely at convenience stores, restaurants and hotels. The market is worth nearly $5 billion annually and is set to grow 24 percent a year — among the fastest in the world.
Bottled water demand in United States or China is driven by convenience, making it a $30 billion-plus market in each country which will grow just 4-5 percent each year, Euromonitor says.
In India, the premium water segment is leading the surge in demand, accounting for 8 percent of the bottled water market last year compared to just 1 percent in 2021, Euromonitor said.
“Distrust of municipal water in some areas has escalated the demand for bottled water. Now, people understand how mineral water has more health benefits. It’s expensive, but the category will boom,” said Amulya Pandit, a senior consultant at Euromonitor specializing in the drinks market.
Among its consumers are New Delhi-based real estate developer B.S. Batra, who says his family uses only premium water at home to get more minerals and safeguard health.
“You feel different, more energetic during the day,” said Batra, 49, an avid badminton player.
“I consume mineral water even with whisky at home, and kids use it for their smoothies.”
WATER LURES BOLLYWOOD STAR, WEALTHY
The popular 20-cent plastic bottled water is mainly made by Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Indian market leader Bisleri. In addition, Indians who can afford it, install purifiers in their homes which clean the water but also remove most minerals.
Imported and local premium waters are luring wealthy consumers and businesses alike.
Bollywood star Bhumi Pednekar and her sister have launched Backbay — selling 750 ml cartons of mineral water for $2.2; Indian conglomerate Tata is expanding its premium water portfolio, and retailers and businesses are reporting higher sales.
Tata Consumer Products, also Starbucks’ partner in India, sells 20-cent bottled water, but premium water is its priority as it sees affluent, health-focused consumers willing to spend on the drink without worrying about the price, CEO Sunil D’Souza said in an interview.
“I don’t have to push water uphill...I see a long, long, long runway for the business,” he said.
Tata’s premium “Himalayan” mineral water factory — which a Reuters photographer visited — is located in the foothills of the Himalayan range in Himachal Pradesh state. Workers there largely keep a hands-free watch on machines filling plastic and glass bottles with water sourced from a natural underground aquifer.
LOOKING FOR SPRINGS
Most Indians prefer still water, and the sparkling variant remains niche. Tata said it plans to launch a sparkling Himalayan water, and is also scouting for natural springs for expanding its other offerings. At three Foodstories Indian gourmet stores, sales of premium waters tripled in 2025. Customer demand prompted the chain to import “light and creamy” Saratoga Spring Water from New York, which costs 799 rupees ($9) for a 355-milliliter (12-fluid-ounce) bottle, and stocks sold out within days, said co-founder Avni Biyani.
Indian mineral water brand Aava’s sales touched a record 805 million rupees ($9 million) last year, growing 40 percent a year since 2021. Tata said its basic and premium water portfolio will grow 30 percent a year, after growing tenfold to $65 million in six years.
Imported waters, which attract an over 30 percent tax, are pricier than Indian brands. Nestle’s Perrier and San Pellegrino, and Danone’s Evian retail for over 300 rupees, or $3.20, for a 750 ml bottle.
Nestle declined to comment, while Danone said the Indian bottled water market was growing at a “robust” pace but imported waters “tend to be niche and boutique.”
“When you open your tap, you’re not getting an Aava, Evian ... And that is what you’re essentially paying for,” said water sommelier Mehta.
At the water tasting session, some participants said they enjoyed the experience but many found the price hard to swallow.
“To be honest, it is kind of expensive,” said executive Hoshini Vallabhaneni, one of 14 people at the event. “For everyday use — it will burn a hole in the pocket.” (Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi and Rishika Sadam in Hyderabad; Additional reporting by Alexander Marrow in London and Anushree Fadnavis in Himachal Pradesh; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Participants use tiny shot glasses to check the minerality, carbonation and salinity in samples of Evian from the French Alps, Perrier from southern France, San Pellegrino from Italy and India’s Aava from the foothills of the Aravalli mountains.
“They will all taste different ... you should be choosing a water that can give you some sort of nutritional value,” said Mehta, who is 32 and calls herself India’s youngest water sommelier, a term usually associated with premium wine. Her family owns the Aava mineral water brand. Premium water is a $400 million business in the world’s most populous nation and is growing bigger as its wealthy see it as a new status symbol that fits in with a spreading wellness craze.
Premium Indian mineral water costs around $1 for a one-liter bottle, while imported brands are upwards of $3, or 15 times the price of the country’s lowest-priced basic bottled water.
Clean water is a privilege in the country of 1.4 billion people where researchers say 70 percent of the groundwater is contaminated. Tap water remains unfit to drink, and 16 people died in Indore city after consuming contaminated tap water in December.
Many in India see bottled water as a necessity and standard 20 US-cent bottles are available widely at convenience stores, restaurants and hotels. The market is worth nearly $5 billion annually and is set to grow 24 percent a year — among the fastest in the world.
Bottled water demand in United States or China is driven by convenience, making it a $30 billion-plus market in each country which will grow just 4-5 percent each year, Euromonitor says.
In India, the premium water segment is leading the surge in demand, accounting for 8 percent of the bottled water market last year compared to just 1 percent in 2021, Euromonitor said.
“Distrust of municipal water in some areas has escalated the demand for bottled water. Now, people understand how mineral water has more health benefits. It’s expensive, but the category will boom,” said Amulya Pandit, a senior consultant at Euromonitor specializing in the drinks market.
Among its consumers are New Delhi-based real estate developer B.S. Batra, who says his family uses only premium water at home to get more minerals and safeguard health.
“You feel different, more energetic during the day,” said Batra, 49, an avid badminton player.
“I consume mineral water even with whisky at home, and kids use it for their smoothies.”
WATER LURES BOLLYWOOD STAR, WEALTHY
The popular 20-cent plastic bottled water is mainly made by Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Indian market leader Bisleri. In addition, Indians who can afford it, install purifiers in their homes which clean the water but also remove most minerals.
Imported and local premium waters are luring wealthy consumers and businesses alike.
Bollywood star Bhumi Pednekar and her sister have launched Backbay — selling 750 ml cartons of mineral water for $2.2; Indian conglomerate Tata is expanding its premium water portfolio, and retailers and businesses are reporting higher sales.
Tata Consumer Products, also Starbucks’ partner in India, sells 20-cent bottled water, but premium water is its priority as it sees affluent, health-focused consumers willing to spend on the drink without worrying about the price, CEO Sunil D’Souza said in an interview.
“I don’t have to push water uphill...I see a long, long, long runway for the business,” he said.
Tata’s premium “Himalayan” mineral water factory — which a Reuters photographer visited — is located in the foothills of the Himalayan range in Himachal Pradesh state. Workers there largely keep a hands-free watch on machines filling plastic and glass bottles with water sourced from a natural underground aquifer.
LOOKING FOR SPRINGS
Most Indians prefer still water, and the sparkling variant remains niche. Tata said it plans to launch a sparkling Himalayan water, and is also scouting for natural springs for expanding its other offerings. At three Foodstories Indian gourmet stores, sales of premium waters tripled in 2025. Customer demand prompted the chain to import “light and creamy” Saratoga Spring Water from New York, which costs 799 rupees ($9) for a 355-milliliter (12-fluid-ounce) bottle, and stocks sold out within days, said co-founder Avni Biyani.
Indian mineral water brand Aava’s sales touched a record 805 million rupees ($9 million) last year, growing 40 percent a year since 2021. Tata said its basic and premium water portfolio will grow 30 percent a year, after growing tenfold to $65 million in six years.
Imported waters, which attract an over 30 percent tax, are pricier than Indian brands. Nestle’s Perrier and San Pellegrino, and Danone’s Evian retail for over 300 rupees, or $3.20, for a 750 ml bottle.
Nestle declined to comment, while Danone said the Indian bottled water market was growing at a “robust” pace but imported waters “tend to be niche and boutique.”
“When you open your tap, you’re not getting an Aava, Evian ... And that is what you’re essentially paying for,” said water sommelier Mehta.
At the water tasting session, some participants said they enjoyed the experience but many found the price hard to swallow.
“To be honest, it is kind of expensive,” said executive Hoshini Vallabhaneni, one of 14 people at the event. “For everyday use — it will burn a hole in the pocket.” (Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi and Rishika Sadam in Hyderabad; Additional reporting by Alexander Marrow in London and Anushree Fadnavis in Himachal Pradesh; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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