The World Health Organization (WHO) has published the 62nd situation report for the multi-country outbreak of mpox.
The report provides details on the global epidemiological situation for mpox, including an update on the epidemiological situation with data on the global situation as of 31 December 2025, in Africa as of 18 January 2026 and the operational response updates as of 22 January 2026.
All clades of monkeypox virus (MPXV) continue to circulate. Unless mpox outbreaks are rapidly contained and human-to-human transmission is interrupted, there is a risk of sustained community transmission.
In December 2025, 31 countries across five WHO regions (European Region excluded) reported a total of 1040 new confirmed mpox cases, including six deaths (case fatality ratio [CFR] 0.6%). Of these cases, 78% were reported in the African Region. Four regions observed a decline in confirmed cases in December, compared to November 2025, while the Eastern Mediterranean Region reported more cases than the previous month, the WHO press release said.
Fifteen countries in Africa reported active transmission of mpox in the last six weeks (7 December 2025-18 January 2026), with 871 confirmed cases, including five deaths (CFR 0.6%). Countries reporting the highest number of cases in this period are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Madagascar, Liberia and Ghana.
Four countries, Czechia, Israel, Madagascar and Nepal, and the territory of Mayotte, France, have reported mpox due to clade Ib MPXV for the first time.
Outside Africa, community transmission of clade Ib MPXV continues to be reported in France, Italy and Spain. Investigations are ongoing for the case reported in Czechia.
Madagascar is reporting an active mpox outbreak, which began in early December 2025 among individuals without recent travel and quickly expanded across the country, which currently is experiencing community transmission of clade Ib MPXV.
WHO published ‘Analytical considerations for genomic surveillance of mpox virus’, outlining key considerations for implementing MPXV genomic surveillance, bringing together available evidence and expert input to support the use of pathogen genomics in public health surveillance and response.
The report also includes a phylogenetic analysis of MPXV sequences shared on open-source platforms, highlighting the main genetically distinct strains detected in each country since 2022, the release added.
WHO published the mpox global donor report on 21 January 2026, summarizing donor contributions and funding allocations during the PHEIC period of the mpox response (August 2024– September 2025) across key response priorities.
On 22 January 2026, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention lifted the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security for mpox.Countries progress negotiations in support of WHO Pandemic Agreement
Meanwhile, the WHO Member States this week advanced their negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit‑Sharing (PABS) system in a resumed session of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on the WHO Pandemic Agreement. The PABS system is a core element of the agreement adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May 2025.
During the session held on 20–22 January 2026, Member States continued text‑based negotiations on outstanding issues in the draft annex and exchanged views aimed at narrowing differences and identifying areas of convergence.
Established by the WHA, the IGWG is tasked, as a priority, with drafting and negotiating the PABS system, which is intended to enable safe, transparent and accountable sharing of pathogens with pandemic potential and their genetic sequence information, alongside the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use, including vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.
The resumed session was held following a request by Member States to extend the fourth meeting of the IGWG, which convened in December 2025.
Further meetings of the IGWG are scheduled in the coming months as Member States continue their negotiations.
The outcome of IGWG’s work will be submitted to the Seventy‑ninth World Health Assembly in May 2026 for its consideration.
