Sweden confirms first case of mpox strain circulating in Africa

Sweden said Thursday that it had confirmed a first case of the version of mpox currently circulating in central and eastern Africa.

Sweden said Thursday that it had confirmed a case of the more contagious version of mpox circulating in central and eastern Africa.

It is the first known infection of the strain outside Africa.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared mpox — formerly known as monkeypox — a global public health emergency for the second time in two years following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to 12 other countries in the region.

“We have now also during the afternoon had confirmation that we have one case in Sweden of the more grave type of mpox, the one called clade I,” Health and Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed said at a news conference.

A transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox virus particles found within an infected cell.NIH-NIAID / BSIP via Getty ImagesMpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact. It's classified into two distinct viral groups, called clades: clade I and clade II. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/sweden-confirms-first-case-mpox-strain-congo-rcna166763

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