Monkeypox: Deadly Mpox Variant Detected in Sweden, First Case Outside the African Continent

A person living in the Stockholm area has been diagnosed with the more contagious and dangerous Mpox virus subtype clade 1 – a first outside Africa, the Swedish Public Health Agency announced on Thursday.

"The affected person was infected during a stay in a region of Africa where there is a major outbreak of Mpox subtype clade 1", Olivia Wigzell, acting head of the Swedish Public Health Agency, explained during a press conference.

Mpox variant of the subtype clade “1b”

The public health agency confirmed to AFP in a message that it was the Mpox variant of the subtype clade “1b”, which has been experiencing a resurgence in the Democratic Republic of Congo since September 2023.

The infected person in Sweden received care and recommendations in accordance with current regulations, Ms. Wigzell assured. “We believe that Sweden is well prepared to diagnose, isolate and treat people with Mpox in a safe and effective", she added.

"That a person is treated for Mpox in the country does not imply risks for the rest of the population", the public health agency stressed in a statement. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) currently considers this risk to be very low, it said.

A mortality rate of 3.6%

The current epidemic, which started in the DRC, has its specificities, first of all a more contagious and more dangerous virus. It is caused by clade 1 and by an even more dangerous variant, clade 1b. Its mortality rate is estimated at 3.6%.

Clade 1b causes rashes all over the body, while previous strains were characterized by localized rashes and lesions on the mouth, face or genitals.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday triggered its highest level of alert internationally in the face of a resurgence of Mpox cases in Africa.

A total of 38,465 cases of Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, have been reported in 16 African countries since January 2022, for 1,456 deaths, including a 160% increase in the number of cases in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to data published last week by the African Union health agency.