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2 mpox cases confirmed in Worcester as Mass. health officials warn of ‘concerning’ uptick

As of Dec. 1, there have been 51 confirmed mpox cases in Massachusetts this year, with 37 of those cases occurring between Aug. 1 and Dec. 1.

FILE - This colorized electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 2024 shows Mpox virus particles, orange, found within infected cells, green. NIAID via AP, File

By Molly Farrar

December 4, 2025

2 minutes to read

Two people in Worcester were diagnosed with mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, as the state’s Department of Health warns providers there’s been a concerning uptick of the virus in Massachusetts this fall.

Dr. Michael P. Hirsh, Worcester’s medical director, raised concerns for the city’s homelessness population after the Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued a clinical advisory at the end of October due to the “concerning trend.”

As of Dec. 1, there’s been 51 confirmed cases in Massachusetts this year, DPH said Thursday, with 37 of those cases occurring between Aug. 1 and December.

Hirsh, who also works at the UMass Chan Medical School, told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette that the patients confirmed in Worcester were two women who are both homeless and both sex workers.

The City of Worcester also confirmed the two cases. A spokesperson said the city has partnered with local shelters and community organizations to host three vaccination clinics against mpox.

A strain of mpox, which was renamed from moneypox due to racism concerns, caused a global outbreak in 2022 to 2023, according to the World Health Organization. WHO declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern for the second time in 2024.

In Massachusetts, DPH said a small subset of people who have two vaccine doses prior to 2025 “tend to experience mild disease compared to unvaccinated cases,” the clinical advisory said. Men who have sex with men and people with multiple sexual partners are at the highest risk of developing mpox.

“While the number of cases is small compared to the peak of the global outbreak in 2022, the uptick in cases over the past few months represents a concerning trend,” the clinical advisory issued Oct. 28 said. “It is likely that unreported cases are occurring and that infection continues to spread in the community through intimate skin-to-skin sexual contact.”

Mpox is mostly spread through close, skin-to-skin contact, including touching or sex, or mouth-to-mouth or face-to-face contact. It can also be contracted through clothing, needles, or tattoo parlors, WHO said. Symptoms, which last between two to four weeks, including fever, cold symptoms, and a rash, which often begins on the face and spreads to the body.

“It can also start on other parts of the body where contact was made, such as the genitals,” according to WHO. “It starts as a flat sore, which develops into a blister filled with liquid that may be itchy or painful. As the rash heals, the lesions dry up, crust over and fall off.”

UMass Memorial Health confirmed the two cases, adding that UMass Memorial Infection Prevention and Control and Employee Health Services clinical leadership are monitoring the two cases with DPH.