MPOX cases on the rise in Europe after Sweden: WHO

NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday warned of further imported cases of the new, more dangerous MPOX strain in Europe. The announcement came after Sweden reported the first such cases outside Africa. The outbreak has killed hundreds in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A traveller from Sweden was diagnosed with MPOX caused by lineage 1b, the same lineage circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo since September 2023. The WHO has declared the MPOX surge in Africa a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the highest level of alert.
The UN health agency expressed concern over the rising number of cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the spread of the virus to other African countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Sweden's public health agency confirmed the infection in Stockholm but assured that the risk from this infection to the general European population is very low.
“A person treated in Stockholm has been diagnosed with MPOX caused by the lineage 1 variant. This is the first case diagnosed with lineage 1 outside the African continent,” the Public Health Agency of Sweden said.
National epidemiologist Magnus Ghislen pointed out that the person was infected while visiting an affected area in Africa, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control currently considers the risk to the general European population to be very low.
“The fact that MPOX patients are being treated in the country does not affect the risk to the general population, which the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) currently considers to be very low,” Ghislen said in a statement.
The WHO's European regional office in Copenhagen said it was in discussions with Sweden on how to best manage the newly confirmed cases.
“The confirmation of mpox lineage 1 in Sweden clearly reflects the interconnectedness of our world,” the agency said. “Further imported cases of lineage 1 are likely to emerge in the European region in the coming days and weeks, making it urgent not to discriminate against travellers or countries/regions.”
Regarding travel, WHO stressed that travel restrictions and border closures are ineffective and should be avoided.
“Travel restrictions and border closures are ineffective and should be avoided,” he added.
The outbreak has hit the Democratic Republic of Congo hard, where Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba reported by video conference that there have been 15,664 probable cases and 548 deaths so far this year across all 26 provinces.
“Since the start of the year, the country has recorded 15,664 confirmed cases and 548 deaths,” Kamba said, stressing that all 26 provinces are affected. The Democratic Republic of Congo has a population of around 100 million.
Efforts to combat the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo include a national strategic plan for measles vaccination and strengthening disease surveillance at borders and checkpoints. A government-level task force has been established to improve contact tracing and resource mobilization to contain the outbreak.
Formerly known as monkeypox, the virus was discovered in monkeys in Denmark in 1958 and first identified in humans in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970. Monkeypox is an infectious disease that is transmitted to humans from infected animals and can also be transmitted between humans through close physical contact. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches and large, boil-like skin lesions.
In response to the outbreak, the U.S. Department of Health announced it would donate 50,000 doses of the FDA-approved JYNNEOS vaccine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
There are two subtypes of Mpox: the more virulent and deadly Clade 1, a lineage endemic to the Congo Basin in Central Africa, and Clade 2, a lineage endemic to West Africa. In May 2022, the Clade 2b sublineage caused a surge in Mpox infections worldwide, primarily affecting gay and bisexual men.
The WHO declared a public health emergency that will last from July 2022 to May 2023. The outbreak has now been largely contained, but about 140 people have died out of the roughly 90,000 infected.
The lineage 1b sublineage of current concern causes more severe disease and is associated with a higher mortality rate than lineage 2b.

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