Mpox: Sweden reports first case of deadly strain outside Africa

Health officials warn current outbreak could be more transmissible and lethal than previous spread

A patient infected with the Mpox virus in Lima, Peru. AFP

The first case outside Africa of the more dangerous Clade 1 variant of Mpox has been diagnosed in Sweden, the country's Public Health Agency said on Thursday.

A person seeking medical care in Stockholm, Sweden's capital, was "diagnosed with Mpox caused by the Clade I variant", the agency said, the first such case in the country.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global public health emergency on Wednesday, after the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries.

The WHO emergency committee that endorsed issuing the alarm expressed that it was concerned Mpox could "spread beyond Africa to other regions of the world", chairman Dimie Ogoina said.

"Its detection in neighbouring countries that had not previously reported Mpox and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying,” WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“It's clear that a co-ordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives."

The WHO said more imported Clade 1 Mpox cases were likely to be confirmed in Europe soon, after Sweden's announcement.

"The confirmation of Mpox Clade 1 in Sweden is a clear reflection of the interconnectedness of our world ... there are likely to be further imported cases of Clade 1 in the European region over the coming days and weeks," the WHO's European regional office said in a statement.

Samuel-Roger Kamba, the Democratic Republic of Congo's Health Minister, said the country had recorded 15,664 potential cases and 548 deaths "since the beginning of the year", affecting all of its 26 provinces.

Mr Kamba said the government had put in place a "national strategic plan for vaccination against Mpox", as well as improving surveillance of the disease at borders and checkpoints.

He said that at government level, working groups have been set up to boost contact tracing and help to gather resources to "maintain control of this epidemic".

It is the second time the WHO issued an emergency on Mpox in two years, after about 100,000 cases spread in non-endemic countries in 2022.

The current outbreak is seen as potentially more of a threat because of a more transmissible and deadlier Mpox Clade 1, and its new mutated variant called Clade 1b.

The WHO's decision followed the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's declaration of a continental health emergency on Tuesday.

The declaration of a public health emergency of international concern is the highest level of alarm the WHO can issue, and it frees up finances and resources for attempts to contain the virus.