Key Points
- The ECDC warned about possible imported cases of the mpox virus, but said the overall risk was “low”.
- Sweden has confirmed an infection with strain Clade 1b, the first sign of its spread outside the African continent.
- The recent mpox outbreak has been declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation.
The Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said the overall risk in Europe was “low”. But it warned that “effective surveillance, laboratory testing, epidemiological investigation and contact tracing capacities will be vital to detecting cases.”
China said it would screen travellers for the disease. However, the WHO has advised against any travel restrictions to stop the spread of the virus.
It is usually mild but can kill, with children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV, all at higher risk of complications.
First cases confirmed in Sweden and Pakistan
The WHO’s European regional office in Copenhagen said the Sweden case was “a clear reflection of the interconnectedness of our world”, but added travel restrictions and border closures “don’t work and should be avoided”.
Olivia Wigzell, acting director general of Sweden’s Public Health Agency, offered a press meeting to inform about the situation regarding mpox after the country confirmed its first case of the more contagious variant. Source: EPA / Fredrik Sandberg
On Friday, Pakistan’s health ministry confirmed at least one case of mpox in a patient who had returned from a Gulf country, though it does not yet know the strain of the virus.
A health officer in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan district said the location of the confirmed mpox patient was unknown. The national health ministry said it was carrying out contact tracing of the patient it had identified.