Mpox (clades I and II)
Should I be worried? · Pathogen library: Monkeypox virus
| Official | Media, unverified | Reported this week | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths | — | 22 20 highest in the last 7 days | — |
| Confirmed cases | 15,205 as of 31 Dec 2026 | 101,872 1,058 highest in the last 7 days | +4 Media, unverified |
| Suspected cases | — | 1 as of 18 Sept 2026 | — |
Mpox remains a live global watch item rather than a finished event. Official sources indicate that both clade II and clade I lineages, including clade Ib, are still circulating, with WHO no longer treating the situation as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern after 2025-09-05 but still publishing global updates and keeping a moderate risk assessment for higher-exposure sexual networks and a low risk assessment for the general population. In the last week of evidence, official or authority-linked updates included a new UK epidemiological overview, WHO Africa reporting expanded laboratory and sequencing capacity, and local surveillance bulletins in Mayotte and Angola showing continued case detection and response activity. The main uncertainty is not whether mpox still exists globally, but how much current transmission is being missed by fragmented reporting. WHO and public-health agencies frame the picture as persistent, heterogeneous transmission that needs targeted surveillance, testing, vaccination and case management. Media coverage often sounds more alarmed, emphasizing that mpox is “still spreading” or that individual national outbreaks are “worsening,” sometimes without the same risk stratification or without distinguishing local updates from global trend data. What would change the picture materially are sustained spread in new countries, clearer evidence that recombinant or clade Ib viruses are spreading more efficiently, rising severe disease in children or immunocompromised groups, or widening gaps between local bulletins and consolidated international reporting.
Situation as of 14 Oct 2026
Official
WHO’s latest global framing available in this session is that mpox clades I and II continue to circulate globally. WHO said in its 2025 global situation update that the second mpox PHEIC was lifted on 2025-09-05, while clade Ib still posed a moderate public-health risk for men who have sex with men with new and/or multiple partners and a low risk for the general population. WHO also reported in February 2026 that recombinant viruses containing elements of clades Ib and IIb had been detected in two travel-associated cases. In the current month, WHO Africa reported expanded decentralized mpox testing, 46 of 47 Member States with sequencing capacity, and 51 laboratories across 32 countries participating in external quality assessment. The UK also issued an updated epidemiological overview on 2026-10-08, indicating continued formal monitoring.
Media, unverified
Recent press and authority-linked local coverage emphasizes persistence rather than a new global surge. Collected reports describe mpox as still spreading in the United States, worsening in South Africa, and continuing to generate local response activity in Angola and French overseas territories such as Mayotte and Réunion. These reports focus on country or territory narratives and public advice rather than a single consolidated global total.
Control measures
Current countermeasures shown in official material include decentralized PCR testing, genomic sequencing, surveillance bulletins, epidemiological overviews, case investigation, contact tracing, supportive clinical care, community engagement, and targeted vaccination where available. WHO continues to stress that vaccination should complement, not replace, broader public-health measures. No new broad travel restrictions were identified in the retrieved evidence.
Timeline
- · WHO said the second mpox PHEIC had been lifted on 2025-09-05 but reported broader clade Ib transmission and assessed risk as moderate for some sexual networks and low for the general population.
- · WHO reported two travel-associated recombinant mpox cases involving genomic elements of clades Ib and IIb, one detected in the United Kingdom and one in India.
- · A WHO Angola country-page report said health authorities had recorded 796 confirmed cases and 2 deaths in Angola, underscoring ongoing national response activity.
- · WHO Africa’s quarter-three 2026 report highlighted regional mpox laboratory expansion, including more than 50,000 GeneXpert cartridges, sequencing capacity in 46 of 47 Member States, and 51 laboratories across 32 countries in quality assessment.
- · The UK updated its 'Mpox clade Ib and clade IIb outbreak: epidemiological overview,' showing continuing national surveillance and reporting.
- · Santé publique France’s Mayotte bulletin reported 3 additional confirmed mpox cases, indicating continued local detection within the last cadence window.
Latest reports
- · Rospotrebnadzor (Telegram) · Official
Rospotrebnadzor is monitoring the monkeypox situation - · TASS (EN) · Official
Russia has enough test kits to diagnose mpox — Russia’s sanitary watchdog - · TASS (EN) · Official
Over 14,000 mpox cases confirmed worldwide in 2026 — Russia’s sanitary watchdog - · TASS (EN) · Official
Mpox continues spreading worldwide, Russia’s sanitary watchdog monitoring situation - · TASS (Telegram) · Media, unverified
Monkeypox continues to spread worldwide. Rospotrebnadzor is monitoring the situation, the agency said. - · TASS (Telegram) · Media, unverified
Monkeypox confirmed in five patients hospitalised in St. Petersburg on October 16. Their condition is stable, the press service of the S. P. Botkin Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital told TASS. - · TASS (Telegram) · Media, unverified
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South Africa records four new Mpox cases, total rises to 26 - · fed.brid.gy · Social post, not counted
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