WHO launched a public consultation process to find a new name for the disease earlier this year and received more than 200 proposals.

Monkeypox exploded around the world earlier this year, with outbreaks in dozens of countries where it had never previously appeared.

The southwestern city of Chongqing recorded a monkeypox virus infection in an individual who arrived from abroad, marking mainland China's first known monkeypox infection.

So far, more than 41,000 cases of monkeypox and 12 deaths have been reported from 96 countries, with the majority of cases from the US.

The health ministry is urging calm and has reassured the public that monkeypox is treatable.

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.

But the UK Health Security Agency warns against complacency.

The US tally topped 6,600 on Wednesday, almost all of the cases among men who have sex with men.

India's federal health ministry says the government has formed a task force of senior officials to monitor monkeypox cases in the country, where local media have reported at least five infections.

This is thought to be only the third outside of Africa in the current outbreak.

The victim was a 41-year-old man who also suffered from lymphoma and a weakened immune system.

The person had previously travelled to countries with documented monkeypox cases.