Mpox in the United States and Around the World: Current Situation

What to know

  • There are two types of the virus that causes mpox, clade I and clade II. Both types spread the same way and can be prevented using the same methods.
  • There have been cases or outbreaks of clade I mpox in several countries in Central and Eastern Africa.
  • There have also been several travel-associated clade I mpox cases reported in countries in other parts of Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, and South America.
  • CDC is working with public health partners in the United States and throughout Africa to monitor for mpox cases and increase surveillance capacity, in addition to other activities.
  • Clade II mpox cases continue to spread at low levels in many countries around the world.

Current situation

In the United States

  • There have been four reported cases of clade I mpox in the United States in people who had recently traveled to affected areas in Central and Eastern Africa. The four cases are separate events and are not linked; no additional spread of mpox has been reported.
  • CDC regularly assesses the risk to the overall population and specific populations within the United States posed by the clade I mpox outbreak; it remains low.
  • Clade II mpox is still circulating at low levels.
  • Children have historically gotten mpox in endemic areas in Western and Central Africa, and in this outbreak the high number of children with mpox reported in likely reflects spread within households. Based on what we know right now, we don't expect to see the same sort of risk in children if mpox were introduced in the United States for reasons including different household makeup and size, access to disinfecting products, and improved access to medical care.
Clade I Mpox Outbreak Originating in Central Africa
An outbreak of clade I mpox is occurring in Central and Eastern Africa
Ongoing Clade II Mpox Global Outbreak
Information on the ongoing outbreak of clade II mpox

Across the globe

  • There are outbreaks of clade I mpox in Central and Eastern Africa.
    • Clade I has two subclades, clade Ia and clade Ib.
    • In Central Africa, people have gotten clade Ia mpox through contact with infected dead or live wild animals, household transmission, or patient care; a high proportion of cases have been reported in children younger than 15 years of age.
    • Subclade Ib was recently identified in eastern DRC and has been spread through intimate and adult sexual contact between different demographics, including heterosexual spread with sex trade workers. So far, clade Ib has a lower case-fatality rate than clade Ia mpox.
  • Sustained and local person-to-person spread of clade I mpox has taken place in some non-endemic countries through sexual contact, day-to-day household contact, and within the healthcare setting in the absence of personal protective equipment.
  • The countries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia are experiencing sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus; there is also evidence of sustained transmission in Central African Republic and Republic of the Congo.
  • Countries reporting travel-associated cases of clade I mpox include Angola, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, South Africa, South Sudan, Sweden, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Zimbabwe.
  • The ongoing global outbreak of clade II mpox has caused more than 100,000 cases in 122 total countries, including 115 countries where mpox was not previously reported. The outbreak is caused by the subclade IIb.

Global mpox cases: data dashboard and map

Notes: Case data reported in humans to WHO since January 1, 2024, are provided for situational awareness and subject to change. Confirmed cases include those laboratory-confirmed as monkeypox virus and may include cases only confirmed as orthopoxvirus. For more information and additional limitations, see WHO-reported data at 2022-24 Mpox (Monkeypox) Outbreak: Global Trends (shinyapps.io).

Source: 2022-24 Mpox Outbreak: Global Trends. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2024. Available online: https://worldhealthorg.shinyapps.io/mpx_global/ (last cited: August 27, 2024)

What CDC is doing

In Africa

  • CDC continues critical work to protect the United States from emerging and infectious diseases. CDC has collaborated closely with key USG partners in affected countries to help support efforts to stop mpox at the source.
  • CDC and in-country partners across Africa have worked together on disease surveillance, laboratory capacity-building, strengthening local workforce capacity, case investigation, strengthening case management, infection prevention and control, and vaccine strategy and planning.
  • CDC collaborated with governmental and civil society partners in affected countries to collect and analyze case data, and to identify how mpox is spreading.
  • CDC trained 80 field epidemiologists in DRC and continues to provide key support for many who are still working in priority health zones. These CDC-trained epidemiologists are playing a key role in DRC efforts to detect cases, trace and monitor contacts, and increase community awareness of mpox, while also collecting and sending specimens to labs for testing, and training healthcare workers to do the same.
  • CDC staff in DRC provided technical assistance and CDC provides funding through cooperative agreements to the DRC Ministry of Health and USG implementing partners such as AFENET, Gavi and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
  • CDC is coordinating technical assistance in response to urgent needs identified by national governments and local partners in the areas of laboratory, surveillance, risk communication and community engagement, case management, infection prevention and control, psychosocial support, and vaccine planning.
  • The U.S. government is also working closely with several other countries in the region to assist with monitoring the situation as new information becomes available.
  • CDC's staff stationed in several countries affected by or on the border with countries with mpox cases provide critical information to inform U.S. preparedness efforts. Staff are connected to CDC's response efforts and can provide critical, real-time information to inform CDC's understanding of the outbreak, mitigate importation of cases into the U.S., and inform U.S. preparedness efforts.
  • Response efforts include increasing the number of mpox testing sites across DRC; improving specimen transport networks to quickly identify new cases; assisting with Ministry of Health-led vaccine implementation; strengthening emergency management systems; improving case surveillance; and training healthcare workers on infection prevention and control.

In the United States

  • CDC works closely with state, tribal, local, and territorial public health departments to provide recommendations for clinical management, diagnosis, and prevention of mpox cases in the U.S.
  • CDC continually increases capacity in communities across the United States for early detection of mpox through existing surveillance systems, including wastewater testing.
  • CDC raises awareness for healthcare providers, including the latest guidance for considering mpox as a possible diagnosis in certain patients.
  • CDC has information and recommendations for members of the public, including those traveling to Central or Eastern Africa: Travel Health Notice and Health Alert Network advisory.
  • CDC works with researchers and partner organizations to increase health equity around mpox and ensure that the populations most affected by mpox have access to the mpox vaccine.
  • CDC conducts assessments to determine the risks of mpox to the people in the United States.

Resources

Publications

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Content Source:
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)