First case of ‘dangerous’ new mpox strain detected outside of Africa

A dangerous and potentially deadly strain of mpox has now broken out of Africa to Europe with fears it could spread globally.

The first case of the contagious, and in some cases deadly, strain of mpox has been recorded outside of Africa.

It has now been confirmed in Europe and there are concerns it could spread worldwide.

Around 450 people have died of the clade 1 strain of mpox, previously known as monkeypox, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It had already been seen in parts of central and East Africa.

On Thursday, local time, authorities in Sweden confirmed a person has tested positive for the clade I mpox variant.

They had recently been on a trip to Africa.

A colorised transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (green) found within an infected cell (pink and purple), cultured in the laboratory. (Photo by Handout / National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases / AFP)

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday declared the mpox surge in Africa a global public health emergency, sounding its highest possible alarm over the worsening situation.

Australia has been urged to step up its screening of travellers entering the country amid growing concern about “the most dangerous strain yet” of mpox.

Mpox is a viral infection with typically mild symptoms of fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes or fatigue, followed by a skin rash or lesions.

An earlier strain of mpox, called clade II, was less severe and was contained.

Clade I is increasingly spreading via everyday touch.

In Africa, four in 100 cases of clade 1 has led to death, although this is a fall from a 10 per cent fatality rate of earlier outbreaks.

“It is undoubtedly the most dangerous strain of mpox yet,” Professor Trudie Lang, the director of Global Health Network at Oxford University, previously told The Sun.

A patient showing his hand with a sore caused by an infection of the mpox virus. (Photo by Ernesto BENAVIDES / AFP)

Those particular at risk of a severe illness are children, those with weakened immune systems, people with a history of eczema and pregnant women.

Commenting on the declaration of mpox as a public health emergency, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a “co-ordinated international response” was need to save lives, including vaccinations.

“The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighbouring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying,” said Dr Tedros.

Mpox has emerged as a concern in Africa particularly among preschool and primary school children “as they tend to mix more closely”, according to Professor Robert Booy, infectious disease expert and chairman of the Immunisation Coalition,

“It’s generally not a deadly infection but in children who already have immunosuppression, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, other serious conditions, it can become deadly so that’s why it’s of international concern,” he said.

Doses of Imvanex, a vaccine to protect against mpox virus. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)

“What concerns [health authorities about the new strain] is that individually it can be severe and lead to overwhelming infection, and it also has potential to spread more easily, so those are the two things that always concern the WHO.”

Prof Booy added that Australia was in a “fortunate situation” and largely free from mpox, which is a close relative of smallpox.

“We have the fortunate situation in Australia where we have eradicated a number of diseases, obviously smallpox has been gone for over 40 years,” he said.

Mpox remains relatively rare in Australia but “it may come in [every now and then] on a plane”, he added.

Australia has detected only few hundred cases of mpox since the start of the last global outbreak in May 2022, largely affecting gay and bisexual men, with around 97,000 cases reported and 140 deaths worldwide.

Victoria has been battling an ongoing outbreak with 108 cases notified so far this year, bringing the total to 190 since May 2022.

Queensland Health has recorded 22 cases so far this year, a spokesman said. NSW Health announced in June it had detected three new cases, bringing the total since May 2022 to 69.

Originally published as First case of ‘dangerous’ new mpox strain detected outside of Africa