Experts have expressed concern that the mpox virus has become sexually transmissible following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to an article published in Science. With 12,000 cases and 600 deaths—surpassing global mortality rates over the last 2 years from the clade IIb strain of the virus—officials stressed that the new mpox outbreak may be one of the most severe to date and could signify the new strain’s ability to spread between sexual partners. Designated clade I, the more deadly strain of the mpox virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has traditionally spread through contact with infected rodents and has not been sexually transmissible. A recent study described two clusters of the disease outbreak in the country: one among men who have sex with men, and a second among sex workers. However, researchers are still unsure of whether the new cases represent the virus’ mode of transmissibility or a new phenomenon. The experts underscored the need to analyze the virus’ genetic changes; improve previously neglected surveillance tactics to account for unprecedented increases in the rate of incidence and mortality; and implement new measures to distribute the Bavarian Nordic mpox vaccine that has been largely inaccessible to residents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite being available outside of Africa.