CDC Expects US Monkeypox Cases to Decline or Plateau Over Next 4 Weeks

This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions (L) and spherical immature virions (R) obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday it has “moderate confidence” that daily monkeypox cases in the United States will plateau or decline in the coming weeks but an increase is possible.

In its third technical report on the monkeypox outbreak, the CDC said cases likely peaked in August and that going forward, the outbreak could plateau, decline, or exponentially rise slowly or rapidly.