Mpox

mpox is the disease caused by monkeypox virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus family. It is distinct from its more severe sub-lineage: Mpox clade Ib is the variant driving outbreaks in central Africa with higher fatality rates; the variant circulating in European and other high-income settings since 2022 is largely clade IIb, a milder strain that spreads primarily through sexual contact. The two lineages circulate simultaneously and require separate surveillance and response frameworks. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control launched a dedicated monthly mpox surveillance report in June 2026 after confirming 336 clade I cases across 15 EU and EEA countries between April 2025 and March 2026, with local transmission established in Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal among men who have sex with men.

mpox was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by WHO in August 2024 over the clade Ib surge in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring states. The disease was renamed from "monkeypox" in 2022 to remove stigmatising language. Human infection produces a characteristic pustular rash, fever and lymphadenopathy; severe cases, more common with clade I, can cause disfigurement or death. The ECDC rates the risk to men who have sex with men in Europe as moderate, and to the general population as low.

ECDC's week 29 threats report recorded 129 clade I cases across nine EU/EEA countries and 22 clade II cases across six countries in June 2026, the first month since ECDC began its dedicated clade I bulletin in which the confirmed case count held flat rather than rising. The coexistence of two clinically distinct clades in active circulation continues to complicate public messaging: a clade IIb case in London and a clade Ib case in Kinshasa require different contact-tracing intensity, vaccination prioritisation, and travel-health advisories.