Sweden finds mpox variant first identified in DR Congo

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Sweden finds mpox variant first identified in DR Congo

The World Health Organisation has confirmed that a case of the viral infection mpox in Sweden is linked to an outbreak in *******, the first sign of its spread outside the continent a day after the agency declared the ******** a global public health emergency.

Swedish health officials said at a press conference that the case was found in the Stockholm region and that the person was infected while in ******* with the clade Ib type of mpox involved in the recent outbreak.

The person is receiving treatment.

“This is of course something that we are taking seriously,” Public Health Minister Jakob Forssmed said.

Olivia Wigzell of Sweden’s public health authority said there was no danger to the wider public.

“In our view, the case does not currently call for additional protection measures. But we are of course following its development closely,” she said.

Both US and ********* officials have said they have not identified any cases so far.

The WHO on Wednesday declared the outbreak in ******* a public health emergency after cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to nearby countries.

At the 7 August 2024 WHO press conference, @mvankerkhove talks about the ongoing #mpox outbreak in ******* & how concerted efforts are needed to stop this. pic.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.com/pUo8p1ykus— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) August 15, 2024

Clade Ib, the version of the virus behind the current outbreak, is believed to cause a more serious type of mpox than the version that caused a public health emergency in 2022.

The mpox virus, formerly known as monkeypox, is spread by close contact.

It is related to smallpox and causes skin lesions, fever and muscular aches.

There are two vaccines but they are in short supply in *******.

Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of the deadlier form of mpox, which can ***** up to 10 per cent of people, in a DR Congolese mining town that they feared might spread more easily.

with DPA and AP

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Sweden #finds #mpox #variant #identified #Congo

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up