Stockholm, Aug 16: Sweden has confirmed its first case of mpox, the clade I variant, marking the first detection of this more contagious strain outside Africa. The announcement came just a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the mpox outbreak a global public health emergency.
The Swedish Public Health Agency reported that a patient in Stockholm was diagnosed with the clade I variant, which has been identified in regions of Africa currently facing a significant outbreak. The patient is believed to have contracted the virus during a visit to one of these high-risk areas.
State epidemiologist Magnus Gisslen assured the public that this case does not significantly alter the risk to the general population, which remains very low according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).