By Chioma Obinna
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised fresh concern over the continued spread of mpox globally, with new detections of the clade Ib strain of the virus reported in several countries outside Africa, including Europe and Asia.
This was contained in the 59th Situation Report on the multi-country outbreak of mpox, which provides updates on the global epidemiological situation as of 30 September 2025, and on Africa and operational responses as of October 2025.
WHO also announced that the report will now be published monthly.
According to the report, 42 countries across all WHO regions recorded a total of 3,135 confirmed cases of mpox in September 2025, including 12 deaths, representing a case fatality ratio of 0.4 percent. More than 80 percent of the cases were reported from the African Region.
While the African Region, along with the Eastern Mediterranean, the Americas, and the Western Pacific, reported a decline in monthly cases, the European and South-East Asian regions recorded increases during the same period.
Seventeen countries in Africa experienced ongoing transmission between 14 September and 19 October 2025, with 2,862 confirmed cases and 17 deaths (CFR 0.6 percent) reported during the six-week period.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Kenya, and Ghana reported the highest number of cases. The DRC continues to show a sustained decline, while Kenya and Liberia are seeing upward trends and Ghana early signs of reduction.
Since the previous report, Malaysia, Namibia, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain have reported the detection of clade Ib of the monkeypox virus for the first time. New imported cases linked to this strain have also been confirmed among travellers in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Qatar, and Spain.
Six countries—Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United States—have now recorded local infections of clade Ib among individuals without travel history, indicating community transmission outside Africa.
The WHO said at least five cases of clade Ib mpox have been detected among men who have sex with men. These cases mark the first evidence of previously undetected circulation of this virus strain within this population, which had only reported clade IIb infections since 2022.
Given this development, the WHO currently assesses the public health risk as moderate for men who have sex with men and low for the general population in non-endemic countries.
The health agency warned that as long as human-to-human transmission is not interrupted and outbreaks remain uncontrolled, there is a risk of sustained community spread.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus, with symptoms including fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes. While most cases are mild, the disease can be severe, especially in children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems.
The post WHO raises concern as new Mpox strain spreads to more countries appeared first on Vanguard News.
