New York City reported 61 cases of mpox in September — the most in one month so far this year — as the city continues to face a months-long uptick in cases dating back to the spring.
The concerning trend is showing no signs of letting up in the fall, with another 19 cases reported in the week ending in Oct. 4 — the most in one week so far this year, surpassing the previous weekly high of 16 cases in early September.
The latest numbers are slightly higher than the previous monthly high when the city reported 59 total cases reported in August.
Since the 2022 mpox outbreak in the United States, cases have almost exclusively spread among men who have sex with men — and in September, 60 of the 61 individuals with mpox were male. Manhattan saw the most cases, with 29, followed by Brooklyn (18), the Bronx (8), and Queens (6). There were no reported cases in Staten Island in September.
There were nearly 100 cases per day when the mpox outbreak — which has almost exclusively spread among men who have sex with men in the US — first gripped the LGBTQ community in New York City and elsewhere in 2022, prompting city officials to mount an awareness and vaccination campaign to drive the numbers down. The city ultimately declared an end to the mpox outbreak on the first day of February in 2023.
However, cases still continued to circulate at lower levels and the city eventually warned about a “substantial increase” in cases from October of 2023 to April of 2024.
City health officials have continued to tell Gay City News that the increase in cases reflects what they describe as a “seasonal trend” in the spring and summer months.
Last year, the city saw 36 cases in June, 33 in July, and 41 in August — and although cases subsequently dipped, they started climbing yet again in April of this year, ultimately outpacing last year’s numbers. There were 44 cases in July and 59 cases in August. Since mid-July, the city has seen double-digit cases every week except for one in early September.
The city encourages at-risk individuals to receive the Jynneos mpox vaccine, which is administered in two doses 28 days apart. The city recommends the vaccine for individuals who have sex with men and identify as male, trans, non-binary, genderqueer, or gender non-conforming. The vaccine is also recommended for individuals who are planning to visit a country where clade I mpox is spreading or if they consider themselves to be at risk for mpox through sex or other intimate contact. Those who have been in recent close contact with someone who has mpox should get the vaccine within 14 days of exposure, according to city health officials.
Those who have already had mpox do not need to get vaccinated because they have immunity.
The NYC Health Map website lists 13 different locations where individuals can receive the mpox vaccine. Among those locations, six of them — the city’s sexual health clinics in Central Harlem, Chelsea, Corona, Fort Greene, Jamaica, and Morrisania — offer the vaccine at no cost to those who are uninsured.
