The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published its most complete national picture of mpox in more than a year last Thursday, and the numbers point travelers toward a different set of precautions than many have assumed.
The new analysis in the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report counted 5,322 confirmed and probable cases across 2024 and 2025. Detections of travel-associated cases increased between the two years, and genomic and epidemiologic data showed evidence of 21 separate importations of the virus into the country. Further importations were observed in 2026 and are expected to continue.
