Mpox Advisory Nov. 20, 2025

Although the overall incidence of mpox cases in Mecklenburg County has declined since 2022, there has been a recent increase in new cases. Mecklenburg County Public Health is issuing a health advisory to prompt providers to include mpox as part of their differential diagnosis for all patients who exhibit clinically consistent symptoms. 

What you can do: 

• Remain alert for patients presenting with mpox symptoms and test patients who have a rash illness consistent with mpox regardless of whether other etiologies are more likely.
• Continue to recommend the two dose JYNNEOS vaccine to eligible patients.
• Encourage patients who have only received one dose to get the second dose to have the best protection.
• Conduct a comprehensive sexual history of your patients, which will help you determine what additional counseling or testing to provide. Additionally, test all sexually active people with suspected mpox for HIV and other STIs and provide treatment to those with positive test results.
• Notify public health if you have a patient with mpox-like symptoms and recent travel to areas with clade I outbreaks including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Europe, and Asia.
• Submit lesion specimens for clade-specific testing for patients with mpox symptoms and a travel history to the NC State Laboratory of Public Health.
• Test all sexually active people with suspected mpox for HIV and other STIs and provide treatment to those with positive test results. People with advanced HIV, or who are severely immunocompromised, are at increased risk of severe illness and death if they get the mpox virus.
• Administer the JYNNEOS vaccine in your clinic, if possible. If the vaccine is not available in your clinic, share vaccine availability information with your patient. Please also circulate this letter among your colleagues for broader awareness and action. 

If you have questions and/or need assistance, please contact a Mecklenburg County Communicable Disease nurse at 980-314-9201. Staff is available after hours by calling 704-432-0871. Thank you for your continued efforts to stop the spread of mpox and protect individuals in our community.