Case of new variant of mpox reported in Sweden

Yesterday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that the spread of the new virus variant of MpoX (called MpoX clade I) should be classified as an international threat to human health. This follows the emergence of the new variant of the virus in several African countries.

According to the Public Health Agency of Sweden, the case in Sweden is the first of the new variant to be diagnosed outside the African continent. At a press conference, the agency said that the risk of the disease spreading in society is considered to be low in Sweden.

‘This is a person who has been infected during a stay in a part of Africa where there is ongoing transmission of mpox clade I. The person in Sweden who has been confirmed to be infected has received care and precautions,’ says Magnus Gisslén, State Epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Sweden on the Agency's website.

The new variant of mpox is believed to have a more severe course and higher mortality than the variant previously found in Sweden. Another difference is that more children and adolescents have been affected by clade I.

The Public Health Agency writes that Sweden is prepared to diagnose, isolate and treat people with MpoX in a safe way. The fact that a patient with Mpox is cared for in the country does not affect the risk to the general population.

However, occasional new cases arriving via travellers from other countries may continue to occur.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has assessed the risk of spreading the new virus variant within the EU as low, but a new assessment is expected shortly.

About MpoX

Mpox is an infectious disease that can cause blisters or sores and sometimes fever, headache or other symptoms. The blisters can appear in different parts of the body. The disease is a zoonosis and the virus was first found in monkeys. This is why Mpox was initially called monkeypox in Sweden.

Mpox is classified as a generally dangerous disease and is included in the Infectious Diseases Act. This means that you must seek medical attention if you think you have contracted mpox. Vaccines are available.

The virus is mainly found in the fluid in the blisters of the person with the disease, but can also be transmitted through mucous membranes, body fluids and the respiratory tract. The virus can therefore be spread through sexual or other close contact, for example through childbirth if the mother is infected.

It is also possible to become infected by, for example, sleeping in the same bedding as someone who is infected, but this is rare.

According to the Public Health Agency of Sweden, about 300 people in Sweden have had mpox since 2022. This refers to the variant called clade IIb. In several African countries, another variant called clade I is currently spreading and is thus considered more serious than the former. This is the variant that one person in Sweden has fallen ill with.