WHO Confirms The First Case Of New Types Of Monkeypox Outside Africa

WHO illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Guilhem Vellut)

JAKARTA - Global health officials on Thursday confirmed infections with a new type of monkeypox virus (mox) in Sweden and linked it to an outbreak that developed in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent the day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the disease a global public health emergency.

Swedish health officials said at a news conference the person was infected while in Africa with the type MPX klade Ib involved in the recent outbreak. The person is receiving treatment.

"The emergence of cases in the European continent could spur the rapid spread of international pomps," Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert, and professor atTENance Law in Washington.

"One case in Sweden is likely to mean dozens of undetected cases in Europe," he continued.

Meanwhile, Dr. Brian Ferguson of Cambridge University said the case with a Swedish traveler was worrying but not surprising, given the severity and spread of the outbreak in Africa.

"There will likely be more cases here and in other parts of the world because there is currently no mechanism applied to stop importedmpox cases," he said.

On Wednesday, WHO declared the outbreak in Africa a state of public health emergency of international concern or PHEIC, after cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to nearby countries. PHEIC is the WHO's highest level of alertness.

It said there were 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, especially among children, in Congo since the current outbreak began in January 2023.

Separately, global vaccine group Gavi told Reuters it had up to $500 million to spend on administering injections to countries affected by Africa's risingmpox outbreak.

Klade Ib, the strain of the virus behind the current outbreak, is a new variant of the endemic klade I in Congo. Klade Ib seems to spread more easily through regular close contact, including sexual contact.

Mpox klade I tends to cause more severe infections and has a higher death rate thanmpox klade II, according to US health officials.

In 2022, WHO declared a public health emergency over the klade II outbreak, which caused more than 95,000 cases in 115 non-endemic countries.