The first case of the more contagious variant of mpox, a viral infection that spreads through close contact, has been confirmed in Sweden. It is the first time it has been found outside Africa.
The person was infected in an area of Africa where there was a large outbreak of the disease, Olivia Wigzell, director general of the Swedish Public Health Agency, told a news 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 the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to other countries.
“We have now also received confirmation in the afternoon that we have one case in Sweden of the more serious type of mpox, the variant called clade I,” Jakob Forssmed, the Minister of Health and Social Affairs, told a news conference.
Wigzell said the infected person had received care and instructions in accordance with health department recommendations.
“This is the first case caused by clade I that has been identified outside the African continent. The affected person also became infected during a stay in an area of Africa where there is a large outbreak of mpox clade I,” she said.