Taiwan Records 12 Mpox Cases This Year; Cases Doubled vs Last Year, Mostly via Casual Sex
Taiwan's CDC reported 12 confirmed Mpox cases so far this year, double the amount of the same period last year. Recent cases involved men who had sex with unspecified partners or engaged in sex work transactions.
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- 📰 Published: April 21, 2026 at 17:19
- 🔍 Collected: April 21, 2026 at 17:32 (12 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 21, 2026 at 19:15 (1h 43m after Collected)
(Taipei, April 21, Central News Agency) The CDC announced today that there have been 12 cumulative confirmed cases of Mpox since the beginning of this year, which is twice the number from the same period last year. Among them, two new cases in April were men in their 30s and 40s, both of whom stated they had sex work transactions or casual sexual encounters with unspecified individuals in March.
Dr. Lin Yung-ching, a preventive medicine physician at the CDC, stated during the weekly epidemic briefing today that a case involving a man in his 40s in northern Taiwan, who had not been vaccinated, developed skin rashes in his lower abdomen in late March. The rashes increased and spread to his face a week later, accompanied by fever, chills, muscle aches, and fatigue. He was diagnosed with suspected Mpox after seeking medical attention.
Lin said the patient was admitted to an isolation ward and later confirmed positive for the Mpox virus. He has since been discharged and is undergoing self-health management at home. The epidemiological investigation found no history of foreign travel or contact with animals; however, the patient admitted to having a sex work transaction with an unspecified female stranger during the exposure period.
Regarding the case of a man in his 30s in northern Taiwan, Lin said the patient developed blisters and rashes in the perineal area in late March along with a fever. He was initially diagnosed with herpes at a clinic. A week later, as symptoms did not improve, he returned to the clinic and was referred to a hospital, where he was reported, tested, and confirmed to have Mpox. This patient also had no foreign travel history before onset but had sexual encounters with unspecified female partners.
According to CDC statistics, as of April 20, there have been 12 new Mpox cases in Taiwan this year, including 11 local cases and 1 imported case. Distribution includes 3 cases in Taipei City, 3 in New Taipei City, 1 in Taoyuan City, 2 in Hsinchu County, 1 in Taichung City, and 2 in Tainan City. All are young to middle-aged men between the ages of 25 and 50, and nearly 80% had never been vaccinated against Mpox.
CDC spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui pointed out that the number of confirmed cases this year has doubled from 6 cases in the same period last year, indicating a persistent risk of transmission domestically and abroad. Since Taiwan listed Mpox as a Category II Notifiable Infectious Disease on June 23, 2022, a total of 528 cases have been confirmed as of April 20 this year (only 2 were female), including 492 local and 36 imported cases.
The CDC noted that as of the end of March, 107,014 people had received at least one dose of the Mpox vaccine, but 31,263 people still need to receive their second dose. They call on individuals who have had high-risk sexual behavior in the past year (e.g., multiple sexual partners, sex workers, sexual activity in business venues), those who have had sexually transmitted diseases, or those whose sexual partners meet any of these criteria, to complete two doses of the publicly funded Mpox vaccine as soon as possible.
Dr. Lin Yung-ching, a preventive medicine physician at the CDC, stated during the weekly epidemic briefing today that a case involving a man in his 40s in northern Taiwan, who had not been vaccinated, developed skin rashes in his lower abdomen in late March. The rashes increased and spread to his face a week later, accompanied by fever, chills, muscle aches, and fatigue. He was diagnosed with suspected Mpox after seeking medical attention.
Lin said the patient was admitted to an isolation ward and later confirmed positive for the Mpox virus. He has since been discharged and is undergoing self-health management at home. The epidemiological investigation found no history of foreign travel or contact with animals; however, the patient admitted to having a sex work transaction with an unspecified female stranger during the exposure period.
Regarding the case of a man in his 30s in northern Taiwan, Lin said the patient developed blisters and rashes in the perineal area in late March along with a fever. He was initially diagnosed with herpes at a clinic. A week later, as symptoms did not improve, he returned to the clinic and was referred to a hospital, where he was reported, tested, and confirmed to have Mpox. This patient also had no foreign travel history before onset but had sexual encounters with unspecified female partners.
According to CDC statistics, as of April 20, there have been 12 new Mpox cases in Taiwan this year, including 11 local cases and 1 imported case. Distribution includes 3 cases in Taipei City, 3 in New Taipei City, 1 in Taoyuan City, 2 in Hsinchu County, 1 in Taichung City, and 2 in Tainan City. All are young to middle-aged men between the ages of 25 and 50, and nearly 80% had never been vaccinated against Mpox.
CDC spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui pointed out that the number of confirmed cases this year has doubled from 6 cases in the same period last year, indicating a persistent risk of transmission domestically and abroad. Since Taiwan listed Mpox as a Category II Notifiable Infectious Disease on June 23, 2022, a total of 528 cases have been confirmed as of April 20 this year (only 2 were female), including 492 local and 36 imported cases.
The CDC noted that as of the end of March, 107,014 people had received at least one dose of the Mpox vaccine, but 31,263 people still need to receive their second dose. They call on individuals who have had high-risk sexual behavior in the past year (e.g., multiple sexual partners, sex workers, sexual activity in business venues), those who have had sexually transmitted diseases, or those whose sexual partners meet any of these criteria, to complete two doses of the publicly funded Mpox vaccine as soon as possible.