Sweden Reports First Case Of Contagious Mpox Variant

Sweden’s Public Health Agency on Thursday confirmed the first case of a contagious variant of Mpox, known as Clade 1, outside the African continent.

According to the report, the infected individual who contracted the virus during a stay in a region of Africa is currently experiencing a major outbreak of this variant.

This development follows the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recent declaration of the Mpox outbreak in parts of Africa as a public health emergency of international concern.

The outbreak has resulted in at least 450 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and has since spread to central and east Africa.

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is transmitted through close contact, including sexual contact, skin-to-skin interaction, and respiratory droplets.

It causes symptoms such as flu-like illness, skin lesions, and can be fatal, with a mortality rate of approximately 4%. There are two main types of Mpox; Clade 1 and Clade 2.

Clade 2 caused a public health emergency in 2022, it was relatively mild.

However, the Clade 1, now detected in Sweden, is associated with a more severe disease course and higher mortality rates.

The Swedish public health agency noted that Clade 1 is more likely to spread through close household contacts and often affects children, whereas Clade 2 is primarily transmitted through sexual contact.