CDPH alerts suppliers to extend in travel-related mpox circumstances, rising clade II exercise

July 02, 2026
Area(s) of Interest: Public Health 

What You Need to Know: CDPH is alerting suppliers to elevated mpox exercise, together with an increase in travel-related clade I circumstances and a threefold enhance in clade II circumstances statewide this 12 months. Clinicians ought to contemplate mpox in sufferers with suitable signs no matter vaccination standing.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is urging health care providers to take care of a heightened suspicion for mpox following a rise in travel-related clade I circumstances coming into California and a pointy rise in clade II circumstances statewide this 12 months.

Since January 2026, California has recognized seven travel-related clade I mpox circumstances—already exceeding the 5 complete clade I circumstances reported throughout 2024 and 2025 mixed. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 25 travel-related clade I circumstances since November 2024, with greater than half occurring since March 2026. CDPH mentioned growing neighborhood transmission in a number of international locations, together with components of Western Europe, is predicted to end in extra travel-related circumstances in California.

At the identical time, California is seeing a major enhance in clade II mpox exercise. CDPH stories that clade II circumstances in 2026 are roughly 3 times greater than in earlier years.

Although present proof doesn’t point out that clade I is extra transmissible than clade II, each strains can unfold by way of sexual contact, different shut bodily contact, shared residing areas and contaminated private objects. People with weakened immune techniques stay at highest danger for extreme sickness and hospitalization.

Clinical Recommendations

CDPH recommends clinicians contemplate mpox in sexually energetic sufferers who current with rash, lesions or proctitis, no matter prior vaccination or earlier mpox an infection.

Providers ought to have an particularly excessive index of suspicion for clade I mpox in sufferers of any age or gender who’ve suitable signs and report latest worldwide journey or sexual or intimate contact with somebody who not too long ago traveled internationally, notably to areas the place clade I is circulating.

Patients with suitable signs needs to be examined no matter vaccination standing. If laboratory testing confirms orthopoxvirus an infection however is adverse or indeterminate for clade II mpox, suppliers ought to presume clade I an infection and instantly report suspected or confirmed circumstances to their native well being division and/or CDPH with out ready for confirmatory testing.

For More Information

For extra medical steerage, together with an infection management, specimen assortment, vaccination, therapy suggestions and reporting necessities, see the CDPH provider alert.