Possible Exposures Among Mpox Patients Without Reported Male-to-Male Sexual Contact - Six US Jurisdictions, November 1-December 14, 2022

The extent to which the 2022 mpox outbreak has affected persons without a recent history of male-to-male sexual contact (MMSC) is not well understood. During November 1-December 14, 2022, CDC partnered with six jurisdictional health departments to char-acterize possible exposures among mpox patients aged & GE;18 years who did not report MMSC during the 3 weeks preceding symptom onset. Among 52 patients included in the analysis, 14 (27%) had a known exposure to a person with mpox, including sexual activity and other close intimate contact (eight) and household contact (six). Among 38 (73%) patients with no known exposure to a person with mpox, self-reported activities before illness onset included sexual activity and other close intimate contact (17; 45%), close face-to-face contact (14; 37%), attending large social gatherings (11; 29%), and being in occupational settings involving close skin -to-skin contact (10; 26%). These findings suggest that sexual activity remains an important route of mpox exposure among patients who do not report MMSC.

Automated summary

The extent to which the 2022 mpox outbreak has affected individuals without recent history of male-to-male sexual contact is not clear, but findings suggest that sexual activity remains an important route of mpox exposure among patients who do not report such contact.