Sweden has reported a case of the new variant of the mpox virus, the first of its kind to be diagnosed outside the African continent.

The person was infected during a stay in a part of Africa where the new strain - which is related to a virulent version called clade I - is spreading, Sweden’s Public Health Agency said in a statement on its website.

“This case does not cause any further infection control measures but we take the outbreak of mpox clade I very seriously,” state epidemiologist Magnus Gisslen said. “We are following it closely and will continuously assess whether new measures are needed.”

The variant is unlike a previous milder strain known as clade IIb because of its higher rate of mortality and its ability to spread through non-sexual routes such as close contacts within families and households, according to the agency. The World Health Organization declared the spread of the virus in Africa a global public health emergency on Wednesday, paving the way for a coordinated international response.

Sweden previously confirmed about 300 cases of the milder mpox variant. Treatment of a patient with the new variant within the country doesn’t pose a risk to the population at large, the agency said.  

  - Bloomberg