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27 June 2025 – The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its 54th situation report on the multi-country outbreak of mpox, confirming 6,823 new cases and 16 deaths (case fatality ratio: 0.2%) during May 2025 across 49 countries in all WHO regions.
Key Developments:
- Africa remains the epicenter, with 18 countries experiencing active transmission, primarily involving clade Ib of the monkeypox virus (MPXV).
- Ethiopia and Italy reported their first confirmed cases of clade Ib MPXV.
- North Macedonia, Republic of the Congo, and Togo identified initial cases of clade IIb MPXV.
- Albania confirmed its first mpox case, with clade determination pending genomic analysis.
- Community transmission of clade Ib remains confined to Central and East African countries.
- In Sierra Leone, case numbers are trending downward, although data reliability is affected by reporting delays.
Vaccination and Response:
- 11 African countries have received mpox vaccines, and 7 have begun vaccination campaigns.
- Over 731,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine have been administered globally.
- WHO has updated its clinical management and infection prevention guidelines in response to evolving transmission patterns.
Ongoing Global Emergency:
Following a review by the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on 5 June 2025, the WHO Director-General has maintained that the mpox outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
The WHO continues to coordinate international surveillance, vaccination, and containment efforts, while urging nations to strengthen diagnostics, genomic sequencing, and public health communications to mitigate further spread.
