The first case of a more contagious and dangerous variant of mpox was discovered outside Africa, in Sweden, on Thursday August 15. The announcement comes a day after the WHO triggered its highest level of international health alert in response to the resurgence of cases on the African continent.
According to the Swedish public health agency, the carrier of the more lethal mpox subtype clade 1 was infected during a stay in a region of Africa where there is a major outbreak of the virus.
The same source said that this mpox variant of subtype clade 1 had been re-emerging in the Democratic Republic of Congo since September 2023. In this country of 100 million inhabitants, all provinces are now affected by the epidemic. More than 15,000 potential cases have been registered, and 548 people have died since the beginning of the year.
In Stockholm, the health authorities are reassuring. The patient is being treated and poses no danger to the rest of the population. They added that Sweden was well prepared to diagnose, isolate and treat mpox sufferers safely and effectively.
In the United States, the Department of Health has stated that “vaccination will be an essential part of the response to this epidemic”. Washington has already donated 50,000 doses of an FDA-approved vaccine to the DRC.