Global Mpox: 3,135 Cases in September
Clade Ib Spreads Beyond Africa, WHO Says
Geneva: Seventeen countries in Africa have experienced ongoing active transmission of mpox in the last six weeks from September 14 to October 19, 2025, with 2,862 confirmed cases, including 17 deaths with a case fatality ratio of 0.6 per cent, reported during this period. Countries reporting the highest number of cases in this period are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Kenya, and Ghana, with upward trends in Kenya and Liberia, sustained declining trends in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and very early indications of a downward trend in Ghana.
In September 2025, 42 countries across all World Health Organization (WHO) regions reported a total of 3,135 confirmed cases of mpox, including 12 deaths with a case fatality ratio of 0.4 per cent. More than 80 per cent of these cases were reported in the African Region. Four regions—the African Region, Eastern Mediterranean Region, Region of the Americas, and Western Pacific Region—observed a declining trend in confirmed cases reported per month, while the European Region and South-East Asian Region observed an increase in cases in September 2025.
The WHO’s 59th situation report for the multi-country outbreak of mpox provides details on the global epidemiological situation for mpox, including an update on the epidemiological situation with data on the global situation as of September 30, 2025, in Africa as of October 19, 2025, and operational response updates as of October 24, 2025. This situation report will now be published monthly.
All clades of the monkeypox virus continue to circulate. When mpox outbreaks are not rapidly contained and human-to-human transmission is not interrupted, there is a risk of sustained community transmission. Since the last edition of this report, Malaysia, Namibia, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain have reported detection of clade Ib monkeypox virus for the first time.
New imported cases of mpox due to clade Ib monkeypox virus detected among travellers have been reported in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Qatar, and Spain. Six countries outside Central and East Africa have reported clade Ib monkeypox virus cases among individuals without travel links, indicating local circulation of the virus in Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United States of America. In addition to countries in Africa, these countries are now also classified as experiencing community transmission of clade Ib monkeypox virus.
Since the last report, at least five cases of mpox due to clade Ib monkeypox virus have been detected among individuals who self-identify as men who have sex with men. These cases provide the first evidence of previously undetected circulation of this virus strain within this at-risk population, in which only clade IIb monkeypox virus had been reported since 2022, and across different regions. In light of expanding community transmission of clade Ib monkeypox virus and its detection among men who have sex with men, the WHO currently assesses the public health risk as moderate for men who have sex with men and low for the general population in contexts outside historically endemic areas.
One country, Namibia, has reported mpox for the first time since the previous edition of the situation report. From October 19 to 22, 2025, the country announced confirmation of two mpox cases. The geographical distribution of monkeypox virus clades shown is based on sequences from clinical samples of confirmed mpox cases, excluding sequences from wastewater and environmental samples.
In 2025, a total of 1,095 confirmed mpox cases, including six deaths with a case fatality ratio of 0.5 per cent, have been reported as of the latest data. The WHO stated it continues to monitor the situation and provide updates on the multi-country outbreak of mpox.
– global bihari bureau
