Ghana has confirmed 13 new Mpox cases, bringing the country’s cumulative case count to 993 as of Saturday, January 25, 2026, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) announced on Monday, January 27, 2026, reflecting a steady rise in reported infections over recent weeks.
The latest update raises renewed public health concerns as the disease continues spreading across multiple regions. According to the GHS, the death toll remains unchanged at seven, indicating no additional fatalities have been recorded since the previous update on January 18, 2026, when the total stood at 980 confirmed cases.
The 13 new cases were detected between January 18 and January 25, representing an average of approximately two new infections per day during this period. While this rate appears lower than peaks observed in September and October 2025, when Ghana recorded up to 80 weekly cases, health authorities remain vigilant as transmission continues across widespread geographic areas.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus. It is transmitted through close contact with infected individuals or animals and can cause symptoms including fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and distinctive skin rashes that develop into fluid filled lesions before crusting over. The incubation period ranges from three to 17 days, with symptoms typically lasting two to four weeks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern in August 2024 following rapid spread of clade Ib in central Africa and sustained transmission of clade IIb across West Africa. Ghana’s outbreak involves clade IIb, the same variant circulating in Nigeria, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since 2022. Genomic sequencing conducted by Ghana’s Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research has confirmed only clade IIb as the circulating strain in Ghana.
Ghana’s outbreak began in earnest in May 2025 after sporadic cases were detected in late 2024 and early 2025. Weekly case reporting has persisted throughout subsequent months, though incidence has fluctuated. The country recorded its highest weekly total of nearly 80 confirmed cases in late September 2025, according to WHO Multi Country External Situation Reports.
Cases have been confirmed in all 16 regions of Ghana, with at least 112 districts affected, reflecting widespread geographic transmission. The most affected areas include Western Region, Greater Accra Region, Ashanti Region, Bono East Region and Volta Region. Western Region alone has accounted for nearly 44 percent of Ghana’s suspected Mpox cases, underscoring the concentration of transmission in border communities with high population mobility.
The Western Regional Health Directorate reported on December 11, 2025, that the region’s cumulative case count stood at 1,060 suspected cases, 399 confirmed cases and 391 recoveries with three deaths. Dr Marion Okoh Owusu, Western Regional Director of the GHS, indicated that cases in the region had reduced significantly following a vaccination campaign across seven targeted districts including Effia Kwesimintsim, Ellembelle, Nzema East, Prestea Huni Valley, Sekondi Takoradi, Tarkwa Nsuaem and Wassa Amenfi East.
Ghana received 33,000 doses of Mpox vaccines in October 2025, with 20,000 doses allocated to Western Region for targeted vaccination of high risk populations and contacts of confirmed cases. As of December 2025, a total of 15,859 individuals out of an initial target of 19,600 had been vaccinated across the seven priority districts. The 21 day vaccination exercise included an aggressive four day penetration phase in the most affected communities followed by 17 days of normal delivery.
The vaccines used in Ghana are Jynneos, also known as Imvamune or Imvanex, which are modified vaccinia Ankara vaccines originally developed for smallpox but proven effective against Mpox. The vaccines were approved by Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority and provided through international partnerships coordinated by WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The GHS is urging the public to maintain strict personal hygiene and seek medical attention immediately if any Mpox related symptoms appear. Health authorities emphasize that Mpox spreads mainly through close contact with someone who has the infection, including direct contact with skin lesions, body fluids or contaminated materials such as bedding or clothing. Sexual contact represents a significant transmission route, particularly among men who have sex with men, though anyone can contract the virus through close contact regardless of sexual orientation.
Prevention measures recommended by the GHS include washing hands regularly with soap and water or using alcohol based sanitizers, avoiding close contact with persons who have confirmed Mpox infection, not touching rashes or body fluids of infected individuals, and refraining from sharing personal items such as towels, bedding or utensils with infected persons.
The service also encourages communities to avoid stigmatizing recovered Mpox patients, noting that such acts could prevent those with signs and symptoms of the disease from seeking medical attention at health facilities. Most Mpox cases in Ghana have been mild, with patients recovering within two to four weeks without requiring hospitalization. However, severe cases can occur, particularly in children, pregnant women or people with suppressed immune systems.
Ghana’s Mpox response involves multiple interventions including active case search in all districts, contact tracing, home based care for mild cases, inpatient treatment for severe cases, community event based surveillance, population mobility mapping in border areas and sustained risk communication through radio broadcasts, community engagement and media briefings.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) partnered with GHS between August and November 2025 to conduct intensive public health campaigns in Western Region border communities, reaching more than 30,000 people. The campaign combined field assessments, capacity building and community focused interventions to reinforce Mpox prevention and response capacities where high population mobility increases disease transmission risks.
Training programmes conducted during this period equipped Port Health officers with enhanced skills to collect and interpret mobility data, while health workers from Jomoro Municipality and Takoradi received practical sessions on case detection, infection prevention and control, and reporting protocols. More than 7,000 families received Mpox awareness messages during a nine day field phase, extending early warning mechanisms beyond health facilities.
Across Africa, 29 countries reported 44,542 confirmed Mpox cases including 198 deaths between January 1, 2025, and January 18, 2026, according to WHO data. Fifteen countries on the continent reported active transmission in the six weeks preceding January 18, with 871 confirmed cases including five deaths during this period. Countries reporting the highest number of confirmed cases over this timeframe include the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Madagascar, Liberia and Ghana.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo remains the epicenter of Africa’s Mpox outbreak, accounting for the majority of cases and deaths. Unlike Ghana’s clade IIb outbreak, the DRC is experiencing sustained community transmission of clade Ib, a more virulent strain associated with higher mortality rates. Madagascar declared an Mpox outbreak on December 30, 2025, after confirming clade Ib transmission, marking the first detection of this strain outside central Africa.
Globally, Mpox cases are decreasing, particularly in the WHO regions of the Americas and Europe, which both reported 31 percent reductions in cases between June and July 2025. However, localized outbreaks continue in multiple countries, and the WHO maintains its public health emergency declaration due to ongoing transmission and the risk of international spread.
Ghana’s 993 confirmed cases since the outbreak began place it among the five most affected countries in Africa by total case count. The country’s case fatality rate of 0.7 percent remains below the continental average of approximately 0.4 percent, though it is higher than rates in some neighboring West African countries with clade IIb outbreaks.
As Ghana enters the second year of sustained Mpox transmission, health authorities emphasize the importance of maintaining surveillance, continuing vaccination in high risk areas, strengthening laboratory diagnostic capacity and sustaining community awareness. The GHS has established Mpox testing capacity at three laboratories nationally and is working to extend and decentralize testing through GeneXpert machines to improve diagnostic turnaround times in remote areas.
The steady accumulation of cases underscores that Mpox has transitioned from an emerging threat to an endemic public health challenge requiring sustained response efforts. Without continued vigilance, vaccination coverage expansion and community adherence to prevention measures, transmission is likely to persist, potentially establishing the virus as a permanent fixture in Ghana’s disease landscape.
