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Mpox patient in Sweden – first outside Africa

by AI | 16.Aug 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The first case of mpox of the more severe variant has been confirmed in Sweden – the first case outside Africa. According to WHO, more cases are now expected in Europe.

State Epidemiologist Magnus Gisslén, Olivia Wigzell, Acting Director General of the Public Health Agency, and Minister for Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed (KD). Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

Stockholm – The first case of the disease mpox of the more severe variant has been confirmed in Sweden, in the Stockholm region. 

It is also the first case diagnosed outside the African continent.

The affected individual was infected in an area in Africa experiencing a major outbreak of the clade 1 variant, which is believed to be both more contagious and deadlier than the clade 2 variant, whose spread accelerated in 2022 and is also present in Sweden.

The person in Sweden has received both care and guidelines according to current recommendations, says Olivia Wigzell, acting Director General of the Public Health Agency.

“A patient with mpox being treated in the country does not increase the risk for the general population,” according to Wigzell.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classified the mpox outbreak in Africa as an international health emergency this week.

Following the confirmed case in Sweden, WHO also warns that more imported cases of mpox are likely soon – “in the coming days and weeks” – to be confirmed in Europe.

“The confirmation of clade 1 mpox in Sweden clearly reflects our interconnected world,” writes the organization’s European regional office in a statement.

(August 15)