Sweden said Thursday it had confirmed its first case of mpox (formerly monkeypox), caused by a new type of virus that appears to spread more easily, making it the first case of the more contagious type reported outside Africa.
On Wednesday World Health Organization (WHO) announced mpox a global health threat for the second time in two years, following the outbreak of the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On Thursday, Swedish Minister of Health and Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed announced at a press conference that a new type of this viral infection had been recorded in his country. – In the afternoon, we received confirmation that we have Sweden one case of the more serious type of mpox, he said. This is the first case of type II infection outside Africa.
The outbreak began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as type I. But the new type II (sometimes also called Ib) appears to spread more easily.
The Swedish Public Health Agency reported that the infected person became infected while staying in the African region.
Symptoms of mpox
Mpox is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by a virus. The virus is spread by close contact, including skin-to-skin contact, talking, or breathing close to an infected person. The virus can enter the body through broken skin or the respiratory tract. Infection can also occur by touching objects contaminated with the virus, such as bedding, clothing, and towels.
Mpox is characterized by flu-like symptoms, including fever, headache, and muscle pain. It also causes pus-filled, pimple-like skin lesions, making it difficult to distinguish from chickenpox. It is usually mild and only rarely fatal.
Main image source: Marina Demidiuk/Shutterstock