Sweden confirms first case of Mpox Clade I ,a more dangerous variant
Sweden confirmed its first case of Mpox Clade I on Thursday, marking the first instance of this more dangerous variant outside of Africa. Health and Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed announced the development during a news conference, highlighting the gravity of the situation.
“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,” Forssmed said.
Mpox Clade I is a more severe form of the viral infection, which spreads through close contact. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years on Wednesday, due to an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that has spread to neighboring countries.
Swedish state epidemiologist Magnus Gisslen revealed that the infected individual contracted the virus during a trip to a region in Africa experiencing a significant outbreak of Mpox Clade I. The patient sought medical care in Stockholm and is currently receiving treatment. Despite the case, Gisslen emphasized that the risk to the general population in Sweden remains very low, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The WHO reported that Mpox has claimed the lives of 548 people in the DRC this year. Following the outbreak, both the WHO and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared public health emergencies. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the need for a coordinated international response to address the outbreaks and mitigate their impact.
“The fact that a patient with mpox is treated in the country does not affect the risk to the general population,” Gisslen said.
