Sweden confirmed its first case of the more contagious variant of mpox, a viral infection that spreads through close contact, marking the first time it has been found outside Africa.
The person was infected while in a part of Africa where there was a large outbreak of the disease, Olivia Wigzell, director-general at the Swedish public health agency told a press conference.
Earlier on Thursday, the World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, after an outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to other countries.
“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,” Jakob Forssmed, the health and social affairs minister, told a news conference.
Wigzell said the person who had been infected had received care and instructions in line with the health agency’s recommendations.
“The case is the first caused by clade I that has been diagnosed outside the African continent. The affected person has also been infected during a stay in an area of Africa where there is a large outbreak of mpox clade I,” she said.
More details soon …