The day after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a “public health emergency of international concern” Due to the spread of MPOX, Sweden has reported a first case on its territory, in the Stockholm region. “We had confirmation during the afternoon that we have a case in Sweden of contamination with the most serious form of MPOX”said Health and Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed at a press conference on Thursday, August 15.
“The affected person was infected during a stay in a region of Africa where there is a major outbreak of MPOX subtype clade 1”detailed Olivia Wigzell, acting head of the Swedish public health agency. The latter confirmed to Agence France-Presse that it was the variant of mpox of the subtype clade 1bwhich has been experiencing a resurgence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since September 2023.
The infected person in Sweden received care and recommendations in accordance with current regulations, Mr.me Wigzell, his agency stating in a statement that the fact “That a person is treated for MPOX in the country does not imply risks for the rest of the population”This is the first case of infection with this variant outside Africa.
“The confirmation of mpox subtype clade 1 in Sweden clearly reflects the interconnectedness of our world (…). It is likely that further imported cases of clade 1 will be recorded in the European region in the coming days and weeks.”WHO stressed in a statement.
A more dangerous strain
MPOX is a viral disease, formerly called monkeypox, “monkey pox” in French. It was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the former Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Before a global epidemic broke out in 2022 in the form of a strain called “clade 2”.
But other strains exist, including clade 1b. The latter, more transmissible and dangerous, was discovered in September 2023 and is wreaking havoc in several African countries, including the DRC. It causes rashes all over the body, while previous strains (clade 1 and clade 2) were characterized by localized rashes and lesions on the mouth, face or genitals.
It was this variant that prompted the WHO to trigger its highest level of health alert on Wednesday. But, as its director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, recalled, “We are dealing with multiple epidemics of different clades in different countries with different modes of transmission and different levels of risk.”
Source: Lemonde
