What to know
- Since January 1, 2024, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and several neighboring countries in Central and Eastern Africa have confirmed through laboratory testing more than 40,000 monkeypox cases and more than 100 deaths.
- There have also been travel-associated cases in other parts of Africa, Australia, Europe, Asia, North America, and South America, as well as Australia.
- The risk of clade I monkeypox to the public in the U.S. remains low.
Situation summary
- There have been six cases of clade I monkeypox reported in the United States in people who had recently traveled to affected areas associated with this outbreak.
- No additional monkeypox spread has been reported from these cases.
- The cases are not linked. Each individual traveled from areas experiencing clade I monkeypox transmission and sought medical care for monkeypox symptoms after arriving in the U.S.
- CDC has assessed the risk to the United States posed by the clade I monkeypox outbreak in Central and Eastern Africa.
- The risk to the general population is assessed as low.
- The current risk to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) who have more than one sexual partner, and people who have sex with MSM partners, is assessed as low to moderate.
- The risk might change as more information becomes available.
CDC monkeypox prevention recommendations
Learn more about which activities may put you at increased risk of exposure when you travel to a country where clade I MPXV is spreading.
CDC has updated prevention and vaccination recommendations for people traveling to countries with clade I outbreaks. As of September 15, 2025, these countries include Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
- There are several outbreaks happening at the same time in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with cases reported throughout the country, in the capital city of Kinshasa, and in some other large cities.
- Clade Ia monkeypox cases impacted the western part of DRC. Although most cases have not been laboratory-confirmed, available data indicate that clade Ia monkeypox is spreading through multiple modes of transmission, including contact with infected dead or live wild animals, household contact often involving crowded households, or sexual contact.
- Clade Ib monkeypox cases impacted the eastern part of DRC; this subclade has driven much of the spread throughout Central and Eastern Africa and has been responsible for many travel-associated cases.
- Available data indicate that these cases are mostly spreading through intimate or sexual contact between adults at first, then spread likely occurs within households, including to children.
- The bordering countries of Republic of the Congo (ROC) and Central African Republic (CAR), where clade I monkeypox occurs regularly, are experiencing clade Ia monkeypox outbreaks; some of the cases appear to be linked to spread from DRC.
- In summer and fall 2024, the disease began spreading to neighboring countries to the east of DRC that are not known to be endemic for the virus that causes monkeypox, and sustained local spread occurred.
CDC has been supporting DRC monkeypox research and response for more than 20 years. CDC and other U.S. government agencies are on the ground in DRC helping partners in the country with disease surveillance, laboratory capacity including testing materials, strengthening workforce capacity, case investigation, case management, infection prevention and control, border health, and risk communication and community engagement. CDC and other U.S. Government agencies worked with DRC to approve and form a strategy for the use of vaccines in-country. Vaccinations for people at higher risk for clade I monkeypox or those who had been exposed to monkeypox began in October 2024.
CDC is working with Ministries of Health and in-country partners across the region on disease surveillance, laboratory capacity including testing materials, strengthening workforce capacity, case investigation, case management, infection prevention and control, border health, and risk communication and community engagement.
More about US and global monkeypox cases and outbreaks
Several countries in other parts of Africa, along with Australia and countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America have confirmed clade I monkeypox cases mostly in travelers who'd recently been in areas with clade I outbreaks. Monkeypox has spread to household or close contacts in only a few cases.
A single person or household with monkeypox is not cause for widespread concern, since public health authorities can quickly identify, isolate, and treat the person or family, and the risk of spread to other people and households can be minimized. Rapid response measures, such as contact tracing and vaccination, can effectively stop disease spread in these situations.
For data since January 1, 2024, see global data at 2022-24 Monkeypox (Monkeypox) Outbreak: Global Trends (shinyapps.io). Confirmed cases include those that are laboratory confirmed as monkeypox virus and may include cases only confirmed as orthopoxvirus. These data are provided for situational awareness and are subject to change.
Information for travelers is available at Preventing Monkeypox While Traveling. When traveling to a country with ongoing human-to-human clade I MPXV transmission, learn more about which activities may increase your risk of exposure when you travel to a country where clade I MPXV is spreading.
Countries reporting travel-associated clade I monkeypox cases
From Jan. 1, 2024, through September 15, 2025:
No onward spread has been reported except to close contacts in Belgium, China, Germany, Qatar, and the UK.
*Multiple cases of monkeypox among travelers who had been in the UAE have also been reported, although it's currently unclear if the virus is being spread locally.