Key points
- The mpox public health emergency ended on 5 September 2025. The outbreak did not end with it.
- WHO standing recommendations for mpox have been extended until August 2027 — not August 2026, as older copy states (WHO External Situation Report no. 69, 14 September 2026).
- 65,784 cases and 264 deaths were reported from 1 January 2025 to 31 July 2026 across 105 countries; Africa accounted for about 75% of July 2026 cases.
- WHO assessed the global risk as moderate in August 2026. Mpox remains a WHO Grade 3 graded emergency.
Direct answer: Mpox is no longer a public health emergency — that ended on 5 September 2025 — but the outbreak continues, and the rules around it changed after the emergency ended. WHO's standing recommendations now run until August 2027, not August 2026, and mpox remains a WHO Grade 3 graded emergency with global risk assessed as moderate. This page corrects the old August 2026 date wherever it appears.
What changed when the emergency ended
The multi-country mpox outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern twice — in 2022–23 and again in 2024. The second PHEIC ended on 5 September 2025. Ending a PHEIC does not mean the disease is gone: it means the Director-General no longer judges it to meet the emergency threshold, and the response moves from emergency measures to standing recommendations. In mpox’s case those standing recommendations were extended — WHO Mpox External Situation Report no. 69, published 14 September 2026, states that the Director-General’s standing recommendations “have, therefore, been extended until August 2027”. Any copy saying “until August 2026” is now out of date; that was the previous extension, which ran to 20 August 2026.
The outbreak today
From 1 January 2025 to 31 July 2026, 65,784 cases and 264 deaths were reported across 105 countries (WHO situation report no. 69). July 2026 alone saw 1,370 confirmed cases and 7 deaths in 32 countries, with Africa accounting for about 75% of July cases; 11 African countries had active transmission from 6 July to 16 August 2026, with 1,153 confirmed cases and 7 deaths. The outbreak involves clades Ib and IIb, including recombinant forms reported in February 2026. WHO’s August 2026 rapid risk assessment rates the global risk as moderate, and Africa CDC lifted its continental emergency in January 2026. The picture is therefore mixed: a large, continuing outbreak concentrated in Africa, with cases still appearing worldwide, but no longer at emergency level.
What has not changed
The precautions are the same as during the emergency, and they are awareness-level only: avoid close physical contact with someone with mpox symptoms, or with their bedding or clothing; wash hands often; and ask a health professional about vaccination if you are in a group WHO or CDC identifies as at risk. This page does not advise any individual about vaccination. For the newest figures, the WHO mpox situation reports and the Disease Outbreak News listing are the official sources, linked in Sources.
Frequently asked questions
Is mpox still an emergency?
The public health emergency ended on 5 September 2025, but mpox remains a WHO Grade 3 graded emergency with global risk assessed moderate, and standing recommendations run to August 2027.
Why does this page say August 2027?
Because WHO External Situation Report no. 69 (14 September 2026) extended the Director-General's standing recommendations until August 2027. Older copy saying August 2026 is out of date.
How does mpox spread?
Through close physical contact with someone with mpox symptoms, or with their bedding or clothing. Avoid that contact, wash hands often, and ask a health professional about vaccination if you are in a group WHO or CDC identifies as at risk.