Brazil Records First Mpox Death in 2026

Brazil has recorded its first death from mpox this year, with more than 1,000 confirmed infections reported, although health authorities say the rising cases do not yet constitute an outbreak.

The Fiocruz Institute, a public health research body affiliated with Brazil’s Health Ministry, reported 1,009 confirmed cases in a report released on Friday.

The fatality occurred in Rio de Janeiro, where the number of confirmed infections recorded between September and November doubled compared with the rest of the year.

According to Fiocruz, the government has increased disease surveillance and acquired 25,000 additional doses of mpox vaccine in response to the increase in infections.

However, the institute said the country was not classifying the situation as an outbreak because the current number of cases remained considerably below the peak recorded in 2022.

Mpox is a viral disease caused by a virus in the same family as smallpox. Symptoms include fever, muscle pain and large, boil-like skin lesions, and the infection can sometimes be fatal.

The virus can spread from infected animals to humans and between people through close physical contact.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in 2022 and again in 2024, following rapid transmission across several countries.

Most of Brazil’s confirmed infections this year have been recorded in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, two of the three most populous states in the country, which has an estimated population of 214 million.