A rapidly developing outbreak of clade Ib mpox among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men associated with severe proctitis, Northern Ireland, June 2026

Abbie Harrison; Catherine Burns; Corey Magee; Monica Sloan; Joy Murphy; Laura McCartney; Maeve Middleton; Emma McCarty; Eoin Walker; John White; Melissa Perry; Nuala Cavanagh; Bill Gibson; Stephen Megarity; Kathy Li; Susan Feeney; Declan Bradley; P Naughton; Rachel Coyle

doi:10.2807/1560-7917.es.2026.31.30.2600604

Key Points

To report on a rapidly expanding outbreak of clade Ib mpox among men who have sex with men in Northern Ireland.
22 confirmed mpox cases reported between June 6 and June 30, 2026.
Cases mainly presented in non-sexual health settings, including secondary care.
Median age of cases was 41 years, with most not having traveled outside the UK or Ireland recently.
All 22 cases were confirmed between June 6 and June 30, 2026.
Outbreak characterized by severe anorectal disease.
Most infected individuals had not traveled outside the UK or Ireland prior to symptoms.

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Implication

Describes a rapidly expanding mpox outbreak with severe proctitis in men who have sex with men, highlighting implications for healthcare services.

Abstract

We describe a rapidly expanding clade Ib mpox outbreak among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in Northern Ireland. Following 12 months with no detected mpox cases, 22 confirmed cases were notified between 6 and 30 June 2026. Cases had a median age of 41 years; 19 had not travelled outside the United Kingdom or Ireland in the 21 days before symptom onset. The outbreak is characterised by severe anorectal disease and presentation to non-sexual health settings, including secondary care.

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Harrison et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a6eeb011b0468a7eeab3c3c https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.es.2026.31.30.2600604

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A rapidly developing outbreak of clade Ib mpox among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men associated with severe proctitis, Northern Ireland, June 2026

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Cite This Study

A rapidly developing outbreak of clade Ib mpox among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men associated with severe proctitis, Northern Ireland, June 2026

Key Points

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Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

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