Epidemiological Update on Monkeypox - 9 July 2022

Between 1 January and 7 July 2022, a total of 7,892 confirmed cases, including three deaths, were reported from 63 Member States in five World Health Organization (WHO) Regions. The 3 fatal cases were reported from Nigeria (1) and the Central African Republic (2).

As of 7 July 2022, 82% (6,496 cases in 34 countries) of the confirmed cases were reported in the WHO European Region; 15% (1,184 cases in 14 countries) in the WHO Region of the Americas, 2% (173 cases in 8 countries) in the WHO African Region, <1% (24 cases in 4 countries) in the WHO Western Pacific Region, and <1% (15 cases in 3 countries) in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region.

During the last 7 days there was an increase of 41.6% in reported cases globally. During the same period, there was an increase of 82% in the Africa Region, 60% in the Western Pacific Region, 57% in the Region of the Americas and 38% in the European Region.

Globally, 78% of confirmed cases are males aged 18 to 44 years old (7 cases have been reported among children under 18 years of age in countries in the African and European Regions). Overall, 98% of cases were identified as men who have sex with men (MSM) and of these, 41% are HIV-positive. Among the cases, 47% indicated that they had prior exposure to the disease during social events with sexual contact.

Of the 1,110 cases with available information, 113 are healthcare workers. Whether the infection in these cases was caused by occupational exposure is under investigation.