Clade Ib mpox detected for first time in several countries

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that all known strains of the mpox virus remain in circulation, raising concerns about sustained community transmission if outbreaks are not quickly contained. At the same time, the newly identified clade Ib has now spread beyond Africa.

According to WHO’s September report, 3,135 confirmed mpox cases and 12 deaths were recorded across 42 countries, representing a case fatality rate of 0.4%. More than 80% of cases were reported in the African region.

Over the past six weeks, 17 African countries have seen ongoing transmission, with the highest numbers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Kenya, and Ghana. The report noted rising cases in Kenya and Liberia, while numbers declined in the Congo.

The report also highlighted that mpox cases increased in Europe and South-East Asia during September, while the African, Eastern Mediterranean, Americas, and Western Pacific regions continued to see a decline.

The newly detected clade Ib mpox virus has been reported for the first time in Malaysia, Namibia, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, with additional imported cases among travellers in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Qatar, and Spain.

Outside Central and East Africa, local transmission of clade Ib mpox has been confirmed in Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the U.S. At least five recent cases were among men with same-sex partners, marking the first evidence of this strain circulating within that group.

WHO currently assesses the public health risk as moderate for men with same-sex partners and low for the general population outside historically endemic areas.

“When mpox outbreaks are not rapidly contained and human-to-human transmission is not interrupted, there is a risk of sustained community transmission,” the agency warned.

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