Taiwan reports 30 mpox cases in 2026, imported infections double

Taipei, Sept. 9 (CNA) Taiwan has reported 30 confirmed mpox cases so far this year, including two new infections announced Wednesday, with imported cases doubling from a year earlier and most cases linked to unprotected sexual contact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said.

The two latest cases -- one locally acquired and one imported -- involved unvaccinated men who had engaged in unprotected sexual activity.

As of Sept. 7, Taiwan had recorded 20 domestic and 10 imported mpox cases in 2026. All patients were men aged between 20 and 50, according to the CDC.

The 10 imported cases are double the number recorded during the same period last year, with six linked to travel to Thailand, according to CDC data.

CDC spokesperson Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) told CNA that while overall mpox cases have fallen sharply since the disease was designated a Category II notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in June 2022, imported infections now account for a growing share of the total.

During the January-August period, Taiwan recorded 322 mpox cases in 2023, 59 in 2024, 32 in 2025 and 30 this year, he said.

Epidemiological investigations found that most patients had engaged in unprotected sexual activity, while nearly 80 percent had not been vaccinated against mpox.

The figures indicate that Taiwan's vaccination campaign has effectively curbed domestic transmission, but some unvaccinated people continue to engage in high-risk behavior while traveling overseas, Lin said.

The newly reported domestic case involved a man in his 40s infected with the clade I, subclade Ib strain. He developed oral ulcers, fever and skin rashes in mid-August after engaging in unprotected sexual activity earlier that month and later tested positive for the virus.

The imported case involved a man in his 30s infected with the clade II strain after traveling to Cambodia in mid-August, where he engaged in unprotected sexual activity. He later developed fever, chills and skin rashes before being diagnosed.

Neither patient had received an mpox vaccine, the CDC said.

As of the end of August, 111,908 people in Taiwan had received at least one dose of an mpox vaccine, while 80,033 had completed the recommended two-dose regimen. Another 31,875 people, or about 29 percent of first-dose recipients, have yet to receive their second dose, according to CDC statistics.

Lin said two doses are about 90 percent effective at protecting against mpox, compared with roughly 40-80 percent after a single dose.

Vaccination also reduces disease severity and remains the most effective protection against both clade I and clade II strains, he said.

The CDC said the incubation period for mpox can be as long as 21 days and that infected people may transmit the virus one to four days before symptoms appear.

People who are not eligible for the government's free vaccination program but are assessed by physicians as being at risk of exposure can receive the vaccine at their own expense at eight designated hospitals with travel clinics across Taiwan, the agency added.