Open Outbreak

Should I be worried about Mpox (clades I and II)?

Updated · Graded from official assessments; nothing here is medical advice.

Mpox (clades I and II) · Attention: elevated

If you are in the affected area no assessment
No agency has published a single risk level for everyone in affected places worldwide. WHO’s 5 December 2025 global update instead said clade Ib posed a moderate risk for men who have sex with men with new and/or multiple partners and a low risk for the general population.
If you are elsewhere in the same country or region no assessment
No agency has published a single assessment for people elsewhere in the same country or region across this worldwide picture. WHO’s global update separates moderate risk for higher-exposure sexual networks from low risk for the general population.
If you are travelling there soon no assessment
No agency has published an assessment for travellers. WHO’s global updates and the UK Health Security Agency overview are the closest official notices listed here.
If you are elsewhere in the world moderate
WHO said in its 2025 global situation update, restated by WHO Africa on 7 October 2026, that clade Ib posed a moderate public-health risk for men who have sex with men with new and/or multiple partners, while the risk to the general population was low. According to WHO

What is happening

Mpox clades I and II are still circulating worldwide, and WHO is treating this as an ongoing global situation rather than a finished event. WHO said the second mpox Public Health Emergency of International Concern was lifted on 2025-09-05, but global updates have continued. The latest figures in this record are 53 confirmed cases reported by officials, including +3 official this week. Separately, media reports describe 101867 confirmed cases, 1 suspected case and 22 deaths, all unverified, with +4 media this week. Officials are still expanding testing and sequencing capacity, publishing surveillance bulletins and epidemiological overviews, and tracking continued case detection and response activity in places including Angola, Mayotte and Réunion.

Who is affected and how it spreads

Mpox is a viral disease caused by monkeypox virus, an orthopoxvirus related to the virus that caused smallpox. It spreads through close contact with an infected person, including skin-to-skin and sexual contact, mouth-to-mouth contact, close face-to-face exposure, contaminated bedding or clothing, and contact with infected animals. Severe illness can happen, especially in children, pregnant people and people with weak immune systems. WHO says vaccines for mpox exist, but vaccination is only one part of control.

What we are watching

Updates

Sources