Janice R. Andrews
After the virus rapidly spread throughout Africa, Sweden has recorded the first case of a more serious form of mpox in Europe. The Clade I variety was implicated in the case, according to the Swedish Public Health Agency, which is the first time this strain has been seen outside of Africa.
The new variety, Clade 1b, first appeared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and started to spread globally, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare mpox a global public health emergency on Wednesday. In the last two years, this is the second worldwide health alert for mpox.
According to Jakob Forssmed, Sweden’s Minister of Social Affairs, the patient had just visited a nation where there was an outbreak. The primary method of transmission for mpox is physical contact, which results in symptoms including a lumpy rash, fever, aches, and pains. The risk of contracting the virus varies depending on the strain.
Mpox may be divided into two categories: Clade 1 and Clade 2. Although Clade 2 was thought to be quite mild, it was responsible for the global pandemic in 2022. But compared to Clade 2, which has a 0.2% fatality rate, Clade 1b, which emerged in the DRC in September 2023, is far more deadly, with a mortality rate ranging from 5 to 10%.
In Africa so far this year, the Clade 1b strain has resulted in around 511 fatalities and close to 15,000 cases. As the virus threatens to spread throughout Europe, health officials throughout the world are on high alert and are stepping up their attempts to contain it.
