The first case of a new, more contagious strain of monkeypox (mpox) outside Africa has been reported in Sweden, the country’s health authority has said.
The patient caught the disease after returning from the affected African region, which includes the Democratic Republic of Congo, and neighboring countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.
The outbreak occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo and began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But a new variant, clade Ib, appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
Sweden's Minister of Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed said on Thursday that the government had ordered the Public Health Service to provide vaccines and drugs against the monkeypox virus before the vacations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that monkeypox outbreaks in Congo and other African countries are creating a “public health emergency of international concern.”
Both adults and children are becoming ill, and more than 500 people have died.
Mpox, which was previously known as monkeypox, is transmitted through close contact, such as sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.
The infection causes flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache and muscle aches; in addition, pus-filled lesions appear on the body, making monkeypox difficult to distinguish from chickenpox.
The outbreak occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo and began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But a new variant, clade Ib, appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
Sweden's Minister of Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed said on Thursday that the government had ordered the Public Health Service to provide vaccines and drugs against the monkeypox virus before the vacations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that monkeypox outbreaks in Congo and other African countries are creating a “public health emergency of international concern.”
Both adults and children are becoming ill, and more than 500 people have died.
Mpox, which was previously known as monkeypox, is transmitted through close contact, such as sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.
The infection causes flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache and muscle aches; in addition, pus-filled lesions appear on the body, making monkeypox difficult to distinguish from chickenpox.
Source: BBC, PAP
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