Sweden has confirmed its first case of the more dangerous variant of mpox, marking the first time this strain has been identified outside Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a global public health emergency.
On Thursday, August 15, the Swedish Public Health Agency announced that the infected individual in Stockholm was diagnosed with the Clade 1b subclade of the virus. This strain has been linked to a significant surge in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since September 2023.
According to the agency, the patient contracted the virus during a visit to an area in Africa experiencing a major outbreak of the Clade 1 variant. The patient has since received medical care in Sweden.
"A person who sought care in Stockholm has been diagnosed with mpox caused by the Clade 1 variant. It is the first case caused by this variant to be diagnosed outside the African continent," the agency stated.
State epidemiologist Magnus Gisslen emphasized that Sweden is well-prepared to diagnose, isolate, and treat individuals with mpox. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has assessed the risk to the public as very low, noting that the case does not pose a significant threat to the general population.
The outbreak in the DRC has been severe, with 548 deaths reported since the beginning of the year. On Wednesday, August 14, the WHO declared the situation in the DRC and neighboring countries a public health emergency of international concern.
Mpox, first discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the DRC, is transmitted from infected animals to humans and can also spread through close physical contact between people. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and large boil-like skin lesions.
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