Sweden Reports First Case of Contagious mpox Strain Outside Africa

Stockholm: Sweden confirmed on Thursday the first case of mpox Clade I, a viral infection that spreads through close contact and is a more dangerous variant of the mpox disease, Al Jazeera reported.

The Swedish government announced this on Thursday, marking the first case of the variant outside of Africa.

"We have now also during the afternoon had confirmation that we have one case in Sweden of the more grave type of mpox, the one called Clade I," Health and Social Affairs Minister, Jakob Forssmed told a news conference on Thursday.

The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to other countries.

According to Swedish state epidemiologist Magnus Gisslen, the person became infected during a trip to "the part of Africa where there is a major outbreak of mpox clade I" and that they have "received care" after seeking medical assistance in Stockholm, Al Jazeera reported.

"The fact that a patient with mpox is treated in the country does not affect the risk to the general population, a risk that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) currently considers very low," Gisslen added.

The WHO on Wednesday said 548 people have been killed by mpox in DRC this year, and declared a global public health emergency following the outbreak of mpox in several neighbouring countries.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also declared mpox a public health emergency on the continent on Tuesday, as reported by Al Jazeera.

"On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it's clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a social media post on Wednesday.