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Europe has diagnosed its first case of a severe new strain of Monkeypox (Mpox).
Knewz.com has learned that a national health organization in Sweden, where said instance was detected, reported that the infected individual had recently traveled to a region in Africa where the disease is widespread.
Olivia Wigzell, acting head of the Swedish state-funded health agency indicated that the infected individual had sought medical assistance of their own accord.
She went on to say that even though the said individual was being treated in the country—the nation was not at risk.
The diagnosis of this active strain, Clade 1b, follows earlier reports that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had recently added the disease to its watchlist making it a “public health emergency of international concern.”
This classification came in the wake of 450 deaths caused by the disease as it spread across parts of Central and East Africa.
The variant was first detected in September 2023 when people fell ill in the Democratic Republic of Congo followed by Burundi, Kenya, and Rwanda.
Its preceding variant, Mpox Clade 2, went viral in 2022 triggering a health emergency. According to reports, Sweden currently has 300 ongoing cases of this earlier strain.
The WHO has since contacted the Swedish national health authority on “how best to manage the first confirmed case of Mpox Clade 1b.”
It also praised the country for its transparency and called on other European states to exercise the same openness should they detect the virus—as it (the WHO) expected more “imported cases of Clade 1 in the European region over the coming days and weeks.”
Various international medical professionals have since weighed in on the development expressing concern.
Dr Jonas Albarnaz, a research fellow at England’s Pirbright Institute, said:
“This news of a case of Clade 1 Mpox in Sweden is concerning for two main reasons. First, this is the first clade 1 Mpox virus case outside Africa.”
“This indicates that the extent of the international spread of clade 1 outbreak in DRC might be larger than we knew yesterday.”
“And second, clade 1 Mpox virus is associated with a more severe disease and higher mortality rates than the clade 2 virus responsible for the international Mpox outbreak in 2022.”
“It is not surprising, given the severity and spread of the outbreak in Africa, that travel between continents has brought this case to Europe.”
Dr Brian Ferguson who is an Associate Professor of Immunology at the same country’s University of Cambridge, said:
“The appearance of a case Mpox disease caused by clade 1 Mpox virus in Sweden is clearly a concerning development.”
“It is not surprising, given the severity and spread of the outbreak in Africa, that travel between continents has brought this case to Europe. There will likely be more here and in other parts of the world.”
Thus far there have been no cases identified in the United States. Be this as it may, health officials are on high alert and appealing to the general public to remain vigilant.