• Sweden declares the first mpox case in Europe
    Internal News

    Sweden confirms first MPox infection in Europe

    European Newsdesk Posted on

    Sweden, on Thursday, confirmed its first case of the more contagious strain of mpox currently circulating in Central and Eastern Africa . This marks the first known infection of this particular strain outside of Africa.

     

    The World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox — previously known as monkeypox — a global public health emergency for the second time in two years on Wednesday, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to 12 other countries in the region.

    “We have received confirmation this afternoon of one case in Sweden involving the more severe type of mpox, known as Clade I,” announced Health and Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed during a news conference. Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact and is classified into two distinct groups, or clades: Clade I and Clade II. The widespread strain in 2022, which led to WHO’s first public health emergency declaration, was a version of Clade II. The current outbreak involves Clade I, which the Public Health Agency of Sweden says is “likely associated with a higher risk of severe disease and higher mortality.”

    According to the agency, the patient sought medical attention in Stockholm after spending time in Africa.

    The Clade I strain behind the outbreak in Congo appears to be relatively transmissible through routine close contact, such as within households. This differs from the Clade II strain, which spread primarily through sexual contact among men who have sex with men during the 2022 outbreak.

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