The WHO warned on Thursday that more imported cases of the brand new, more dangerous Mpox strain were to be expected in Europe after Sweden reported the primary such infection outside Africa in an outbreak within the Democratic Republic of Congo that has already claimed lots of of lives.
The case, recorded in a traveller in Sweden, was announced a day after the World Health Organization declared the rise in MPOX cases in Africa a global health emergency – the very best level of alert it will probably issue.
The UN Health Department expressed concern concerning the increase in cases and deaths within the Democratic Republic of Congo and the spread to Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
The Swedish Health Authority told AFP on Thursday that it had registered a case of the Clade 1b subgroup – the identical recent virus variant that has been circulating widely within the Democratic Republic of Congo since September 2023.
“A person seeking treatment in Stockholm has been diagnosed with Mpox, caused by the Clade 1 variant. It is the first case caused by Clade I diagnosed outside the African continent,” the agency said in a separate statement.
The person became infected during a visit to “the part of Africa where there is a major outbreak of Mpox Clade 1,” state epidemiologist Magnus Gisslen said within the statement.
The agency added: “The fact that a patient with MPOX is being treated in the country does not affect the risk to the general population, which is currently assessed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) as very low.”
The WHO European Regional Office in Copenhagen said it’s currently discussing with Sweden how best to cope with the newly discovered case.
“The confirmation of Mpox Clade 1 in Sweden is a clear reflection of the interconnectedness of our world,” it said in a press release.
“There is likely to be further imported Clade 1 cases in the European Region in the coming days and weeks and it is imperative that we do not stigmatise travellers or countries/regions.”
“Travel restrictions and border closures do not work and should be avoided,” it continued.
548 dead within the Democratic Republic of Congo
The focus of the outbreak was on the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said in a video message that the country had “registered 15,664 possible cases and 548 deaths since the beginning of the year,” with all 26 provinces affected.
The population of the Democratic Republic of Congo is around 100 million.
He said the federal government had launched a “national strategic plan for vaccination against MPOX” and improved surveillance of the disease at borders and checkpoints.
The minister said government-level working groups had been set as much as advance contact tracing and help mobilize resources to “maintain control of this epidemic.”
The virus, formerly called monkeypox, was discovered in Denmark in 1958 in monkeys kept for research purposes.
The disease was first discovered in humans in 1970 in what’s now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mpox is an infectious disease brought on by a virus that’s transmitted from infected animals to humans. However, transmission from individual to individual can be possible through close physical contact.
The disease causes fever, muscle aches and huge, boil-like skin lesions.
Vaccination campaign
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday it might “donate 50,000 doses of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved JYNNEOS vaccine to the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
“Vaccination will be a critical part of the response to this outbreak,” it said in a press release.
And the Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic said it was ready to provide as much as 10 million doses of its vaccine against MPOX by 2025.
There are two subtypes of the virus: the more virulent and deadly Clade 1, which is endemic to the Congo Basin in Central Africa, and Clade 2, which is endemic to West Africa.
In May 2022, Mpox infections skyrocketed worldwide, primarily affecting gay and bisexual men because of the Clade 2b subgroup.
The WHO declared a public health emergency lasting from July 2022 to May 2023.
This outbreak, which has now largely subsided, resulted in about 140 deaths amongst about 90,000 cases.
The subgroup of group 1b results in more severe disease courses than group 2b and has a better mortality rate.
