Sweden announced on Thursday that it has identified a case of the more contagious variant of mpox, commonly found in central and eastern Africa. This marks the first reported infection of this strain outside the African continent.
The World Health Organization had declared mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has now reached 12 other countries in the area.
Health and Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed confirmed the case during a news conference, stating, “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.”
Mpox is transmitted through close contact and is categorized into two main groups: clade I and clade II. The strain that gained significant attention in 2022 and led the WHO to declare a public health emergency was associated with clade II. The ongoing outbreak is linked to clade I, which the Public Health Agency of Sweden warns may carry a higher risk of severe illness and increased mortality rates.
According to the agency, the patient who tested positive for mpox sought medical treatment in Stockholm after returning from Africa. The clade I variant responsible for the outbreak in Congo appears to spread through regular close contact, differing from the clade II strain which was primarily transmitted through sexual contact among men who have sex with men during the previous outbreak.