A person living in Stockholm was diagnosed with the 1st subtype of the virus. you mpox? (also called monkey pox), more contagious and dangerous, for the first time outside of Africa, Sweden’s public health agency announced Thursday.
“The victim was infected while in a region of Africa where there is a large epidemic of mpox subtype 1,” explained Olivia Vigzel, acting head of the Swedish Health Agency
The public health agency confirmed in a statement to AFP that it is the mpox variant of clade “1b” subtype, which has been resurgent in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since September 2023
In Sweden, the infected person received care and recommendations according to the current regulations, assured Olivia Wigzel. “We believe that Sweden is well prepared to diagnose, isolate and treat people infected with mpox safely and effectively,” he added. “The fact that a person is treated for mpox in the country does not imply risks for the rest of the population,” the public health agency said in a press release.
Rash all over the body
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) currently considers this risk to be very low, he said. The current epidemic that started in the DRC has its own characteristics, first of all a more contagious and dangerous virus. It is caused by clade 1 and an even more dangerous variant, 1b. Its mortality rate is estimated at 3.6%
World Health Organization (WHO) Wednesday recorded its highest alarm level internationally amid the resurgence of mpox cases in Africa.
Clade 1b shows a rash all over the body, whereas previous strains were characterized by localized rashes and lesions in the mouth, face, or genitalia.
A total of 38,465 cases of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, have been reported in 16 African countries since January 2022, with 1,456 deaths, including a 160% increase in the number of cases in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to published data. last week by the African Union Health Agency.