Sweden reports first case of Mpox strain outside Africa amid global health emergency

A day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared increasing spread of Mpox in Africa a global health emergency, Sweden on Thursday registered the first case.

"A person who sought care" in Stockholm "has been diagnosed with Mpox caused by the clade I variant. It is the first case caused by clade I to be diagnosed outside the African continent," AFP quoted Sweden's Public Health Agency as saying.

"The person was infected during a visit to "the part of Africa where there is a major outbreak of Mpox clade I," state epidemiologist Magnus Gisslen said in the statement.

Gisslen said that the patient “has received care.”

The agency added that Sweden "has a preparedness to diagnose, isolate and treat people with Mpox safely."

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday declared the Mpox surge in Africa a global public health emergency.

The Director General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said, that a public health emergency of international concern is the highest level of alarm under international health law.

An Mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 548 people since the start of the year, said another report.

"According to the latest epidemiological report, our country has recorded 15,664 potential cases and 548 deaths since the beginning of the year," reported AFP quoting Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba.

The most affected provinces are South Kivu, North Kivu, Tshopo, Equateur, North Ubangi, Tshuapa, Mongala and Sankuru, Kamba said.

The US Department of Health said on Wednesday it would be "donating 50,000 doses of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved JYNNEOS vaccine to DRC".

"Vaccination will be a critical element of the response to this outbreak," it said in a statement.

Mpox, once known as monkeypox, is a viral infection closely related to smallpox. Initial symptoms include a fever, headache, swelling of the lymph nodes and muscle ache. A typical rash follows, mainly on the face, hands and feet.

- With agency inputs.