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Global mpox transmission continues as Ukraine reports its first travel-linked Clade Ib case, alongside mounting community-level surges across Kenya and Angola. Concurrently, the Democratic Republic of the Congo reports a suspected new outbreak of mpox, as they battle a competing national health crisis with the Ebola outbreak, straining diagnostic and contact-tracing efforts.  

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9/10/2026 — Mpox continues to spread globally. Ukraine has reported its first Clade Ib mpox case. Kenya and Angola are seeing surges in community transmission while the DRC suspects an outbreak in the Luebo health zone. 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a primary epicenter in the 2025 mpox outbreak, is reporting more than 30 suspected cases of mpox in the Luebo health zone in Kasai and four deaths. As of September 3, the suspected cases and deaths are still awaiting official confirmation. The national focus on Bundibugyo virus disease may slow feedback from the National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) and strain clinical management and contact tracing.

In Kenya, health authorities are raising concern over continued community transmission of mpox. There have been 1,279 sub-Clade Ib cases confirmed in Kenya as of September 7. Mpox has been reported in 40 of the country’s 47 counties. Mombasa has recorded the highest number of cases (452), followed by Nairobi (320). 18 cases have been travel-associated, linked to Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The ministry noted that children between 10 and 15 years of age and adults over 15 years of age are the most affected groups. 

The Cabinda province in Angola is reporting a surge in mpox cases as of September 8. They have reported 381 suspected cases, with 264 of those confirmed. As of July 19, Angola had confirmed 108 mpox cases nationally; even just considering the Cabinda region alone, which has confirmed 264 cases, Angola has more than doubled its case count in the last seven weeks. The escalation from sporadic cases in 2024 and 2025 to the concentrated outbreak in Cabinda indicates that sustained human-to-human transmission has been established in the province. Community-level spread is most likely, as cases have mostly been reported without a travel history, and poor-sanitation guesthouses were identified as transmission modes. With 30,000 available vaccine doses, 25 teams, and 174 health technicians, the Governor of Cabinda started an mpox vaccination campaign on September 1. The campaign prioritizes healthcare workers, mpox patients, residents of border areas, and the population in the most affected municipalities: Cabinda, Liambo, Ngoio, and Tando-Zinze.

Ukraine confirmed its first case of Clade Ib mpox on September 3 in a man in the Vinnytsia region. The infection is travel-related to other European countries where the virus has been reported.

The Africa CDC has not provided updated case numbers for the past five weeks, and the WHO is now updating its global trend data every two weeks. The team will continue to track cases as new data are published.

Mpox in the United States

US CDC has recently updated vaccination guidance for mpox, centering on the JYNNEOS vaccine as the primary tool for outbreak response. The organization also continues to recommend that those with recent indicators of elevated exposure risk, especially men who have sex with men, those with a new STI diagnosis, or multiple sex partners, receive the JYNNEOS vaccine.

According to WastewaterSCAN, mpox Clade II was detected in wastewater in San Francisco, California, on September 3. The CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS), which has broader coverage of the US but is not as up-to-date as WastewaterSCAN, did not detect Clade II mpox in the United States on August 23 and 29, but non-Clade-specific mpox was detected in Cook County, Illinois. Clade II mpox has continued to circulate in the US, with 1,700 to 2,800 cases reported annually from 2023 to 2025. So far in 2026, there have been 867 mpox cases reported in the US, with no documented deaths. This includes both Clade II and Clade Ib cases, with the majority of cases being Clade II, which generally causes less severe illness and a mortality rate between <1% and 4%.

Clade Ib cases in the US total 27 since late 2024, with the most recent case being reported two weeks ago in California. However, there has been no documented transmission within the US and no deaths in 2026. Before this, the most recent cases were six associated with travel (including in New York, Arizona, Connecticut, and Missouri) and a San Francisco Clade Ib case reported in April 2026. None of these cases have been epidemiologically linked to the others. To date, sustained community transmission of Clade Ib has not been detected in the US. Despite a wastewater detection of the deadlier mpox Clade Ib in Cobb County, Georgia, in March, and clinical detections in New York and Missouri in March, California in April, and Connecticut in May, mpox Clade Ib has not been detected in wastewater in any of those states or nationally in May, June, or July 2026.