If your patient is traveling to a country with a clade I mpox outbreak and anticipate any of the following activities during travel, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation:
- Sex with a new partner
- Sex at a commercial sex venue (e.g., a sex club or bathhouse)
- Sex in exchange for money, goods, drugs, or other trade
- Sex in association with a large public event (e.g., a rave, party, or festival)
Recommend starting, if possible, the mpox vaccine series at least 6 weeks before travel begins, since two doses should be given 28 days apart and it takes 14 more days for immunity to peak.
Emphasize risk reduction strategies in conversation with patients who are not eligible for vaccination, or who do not present in time to receive the two recommended vaccine doses 28 days apart
Advise patients that two vaccine doses are more effective than one dose.
- Two doses of JYNNEOS can prevent mpox and may reduce the severity of symptoms in people with mpox.
- A multijurisdictional study conducted in 2022–2023 in the United States identified significant JYNNEOS vaccine effectiveness against clade IIb mpox: 75% after one dose and 86% after two doses.

Public Health Lab Testing Criteria, Collection, and Submission:
After receiving CDPH testing approval, a single (1) specimen should be collected with its own specimen container. Each specimen must have CDPH/IDPH authorization number and a subsequent IDPH Electronic Test Ordering and Reporting (ETOR) submission.
Please sign up in advance of immediate need for testing for the required IDPH ETOR system to ensure a smooth submission process.
This info can also be found under “Monkey Pox Clade Typing by PCR” in IDPH’s manual of services.
Avoid unroofing or aspiration of lesions or otherwise using sharp instruments for mpox testing to minimize the risk of a sharps injury.
More information about the specimen submission process, collection, shipping, and ETOR can be found in the attached job aid.

Clinicians should have a heightened index of suspicion for clade I mpox in patients with compatible symptoms who have recently been in DRC or any country sharing a border with DRC, including the Republic of the Congo (ROC), Central African Republic (CAR), Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Zambia, and S. Sudan.

Evaluate all suspected cases related to DRC or its neighboring countries with laboratory testing (rather than clinical diagnosis alone).

JYNNEOS vaccine is believed to protect against both mpox clades and treatments used during the ongoing clade II mpox outbreak are expected to be effective for clade I mpox.

Advise all patients suspected of having mpox to isolate themselves from others.

Public Health Lab Approval Process:

Patients who do not meet epidemiologic exposure risk for clade I mpox should continue to have testing performed through a commercial laboratory. Patients suspicious for Clade I mpox (i.e. history of travel to DRC or a country sharing its borders within 21 days) should have specimens submitted through the public health laboratory CDPH approval is required for all public health testing. Please call the Mpox hotline at 312-742-2883 during business hours. After hours, clinicians may call 311 and speak with the CDPH physician on call.

Menu Display

Search Bar

General Programs

HAI/AR Programs

General Information:

Alert Detail

Alert Detail - HAN

Breadcrumb

Jump To:

HAN Alert Details Web

Asset Publisher

Related Alerts

Registration is now open for ICAAP's 2025 Lead Poisoning Prevention webinars

IDPH: Dear Colleague Letter - Clinical Guidance Document

Chicago Respiratory Virus Weekly Surveillance Report - February 14, 2025

Chicago VFC Newsletter - February 2025

Chicago Respiratory Virus Weekly Surveillance Report - February 7, 2025

CDC: Ebola Outbreak Caused by Sudan virus in Uganda

COVID-19

Footer Logo Content

City of Chicago

Footer Contact Health Alert Network(HAN)

Contact Health Alert Network (HAN)

Menu Display

Menu Display