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ECDC assesses risk associated with ongoing mpox epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

News story

An outbreak of mpox is ongoing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with 12 569 cases reported between 1 January and 12 November 2023. The vast majority of infections are caused by Monkeypox virus (MPXV) clade I, which is generally considered to be more virulent than MPXV clade II, which has been driving the multi-country epidemic of mpox in 2022-23.

Currently, there is no evidence that MPXV clade I is circulating outside certain central African countries and available MPXV sequences do not suggest circulation in the EU/EEA. 

According to ECDC, the likelihood of infection for the general EU population from the ongoing epidemic of mpox due to MPXV clade I is very low, while the impact from such infection is assessed as low, resulting in an overall low risk.  

The likelihood of infection with clade I virus for the population of men who have sex with men (MSM) with multiple sexual partners in the EU/EEA is considered higher than that of the general population. However, it is still estimated as low, as immunity in this population due to prior infection with MPXV Clade II and/or vaccination in 2022-23 will probably decrease both the likelihood and the impact of such an infection. Therefore, the overall risk for MSM with multiple sexual partners stemming from this outbreak in the DRC is low. The overall risk for the general population is also assessed as low.

Public health authorities should continue efforts to increase awareness among clinicians about mpox. Contact tracing, testing and sequencing of samples from detected mpox cases should continue, along with sharing the detected sequences. In the event of mpox cases with increased severity and/or the detection of a MPXV clade I infection, the event should be promptly communicated at the EU level via EpiPulse - an online portal for European public health authorities and partner organisations to share disease and viral sequence data.

Read the assessment