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The first European case of the new MPOX variant was confirmed in Sweden.
At least 450 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year due to an MPOX clade 1 outbreak.
The World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency on Wednesday after the virus spread across Central and East Africa.
Formerly known as monkeypox, Mpox exists in two types: clade 1 and clade 2.
Lineage 2 caused a public health emergency in 2022 but was deemed relatively mild. Lineage 1 was more deadly, and a variant called lineage 1b is spreading rapidly.
Sweden's Minister of Health and Social Affairs Jakob Forsmed said on Thursday that the country had confirmed its first clade 1 case.
“This afternoon, one case of the more severe form of MPOX, the so-called 'clade 1', was confirmed in Sweden,” he told a press conference.
Jean Kakulu Biyambo, 48, a father of six, is being treated with MPOX. Symptoms include a painful rash, swollen lymph nodes and fever. (Reuters)
Olivia Wigsell, director of the Swedish Public Health Agency, said the patient had become infected while visiting an area in Africa where the disease was occurring.
“This case is the first case of lineage 1 diagnosed outside the African continent.”
The patient is receiving treatment in Stockholm, the agency said.
Sweden has also recorded around 300 clade 2 cases.
“We have a national stockpile of vaccines,” Forsmed said.
Mpox belongs to the same virus family as smallpox, but causes milder symptoms such as fever, chills and body aches.
More severe infections may cause characteristic lesions on the face, hands, chest, and genitals.
It is transmitted through close physical contact such as sex, kissing, hugging, and holding hands.
Reports say that Mpox has infected more than 14,000 people in Africa this year and killed at least 524, with more than 96% of the deaths occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The UK Health Security Agency said no cases of lineage 1 have been recorded in the UK.
But plans were underway to prepare for the arrival of mutant strains.
“This includes ensuring that clinicians are aware and can recognise cases quickly, that rapid testing is available and that protocols are developed for the safe clinical care of infected individuals and to prevent further infection,” said Dr Meera Chand, the department's deputy director-general.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the emergence and rapid spread of the new MPOX lineage in eastern Congo was “deeply worrying”.
“This, along with other MPOX lineage outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries, clearly requires a coordinated international response to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”
“The sudden increase in monkeypox in parts of Africa and the spread of a new sexually transmitted strain of monkeypox virus is an emergency not only for Africa but for the whole planet,” said Professor Dimier Ogoyena, chair of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee.
“Mpox originated in Africa, was ignored there and then led to a global pandemic in 2022. It is time to take decisive action to ensure history does not repeat itself.”
