Africa accounted for about 75 per cent of confirmed mpox cases reported globally in July, as transmission continued across the continent despite the World Health Organization (WHO) maintaining its assessment of the global public health risk as moderate.
The WHO disclosed this in its 69th situation report, which reviewed the epidemiological situation across regions and found that mpox transmission remained active in several parts of the world.
According to the report, 32 countries across four WHO regions recorded 1,370 confirmed cases and seven deaths in July, representing a global case fatality ratio of 0.5 per cent.
Africa accounted for 1,153 of those cases, or roughly three-quarters of the global total, with seven African countries reporting active transmission during the period.
The continent also accounted for all seven deaths recorded globally in the reporting period.
WHO said 11 African countries recorded active transmission between July 6 and August 16, with Madagascar, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya and Cameroon reporting the highest number of cases.
Confirmed cases in Africa increased in July compared with June, even as cases declined in the Americas, Western Pacific, European and South-East Asia regions.
The Eastern Mediterranean Region reported no confirmed cases in July, extending the decline recorded in June.
Globally, Madagascar, Angola, China, the DRC and Kenya recorded the highest numbers of confirmed cases during July.
The concentration of cases in Africa highlights the uneven burden of the mpox outbreak, even as transmission continues to be reported across multiple regions.
WHO said transmission continued to affect key populations, with sexual transmission remaining the dominant mode of spread, followed by household transmission and community outbreaks.
The agency also reported that all clades of the monkeypox virus continued to circulate, reinforcing the need for sustained surveillance, testing and coordinated public health responses.
Mpox is a viral disease that can spread through close physical contact with an infected person, contaminated materials or infected animals.
The latest WHO assessment comes about a year after the agency ended the mpox public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
WHO declared the outbreak a PHEIC in August 2024 following a surge in cases in the DRC and the spread of a new clade to neighbouring African countries.
The emergency declaration was lifted on September 5, 2025, after WHO determined that the outbreak no longer met the criteria for an international public health emergency.
However, the agency retained standing recommendations for continued surveillance and management of mpox.
The scale of transmission remains significant. From January 2022 through July 2026, 145 countries and territories reported 190,683 confirmed mpox cases and 529 deaths, according to WHO data.
