On May 18, 2022, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that they were collaborating with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to investigate a case of mpox in a Massachusetts resident who had recently traveled to Canada by private transportation.

CDC was also tracking multiple clusters of mpox that were reported within the past two weeks in several countries that don’t normally report mpox, including Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It’s not clear how people in those clusters were exposed to mpox but cases include individuals who self-identify as men who have sex with men.  CDC was urging healthcare providers in the U.S. to be alert for patients who have rash illnesses consistent with mpox, regardless of whether they have travel or specific risk factors for mpox.

Anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, can spread monkeypox through contact with body fluids, mpox sores, or shared items (such as clothing and bedding) that have been contaminated with fluids or sores of a person with mpox. The mpox virus can also spread between people through respiratory droplets typically in a close setting, such as the same household or a healthcare setting. Common household disinfectants can kill the mpox virus.