Sweden reports first case of deadly mpox strain outside Africa

The WHO on Thursday warned further imported cases of the new, more dangerous mpox strain in Europe were likely, after Sweden announced the first such infection outside Africa in an outbreak that has killed hundreds in the DR Congo.

The case recorded in a traveller in Sweden was announced the day after the World Health Organization declared the mpox surge in Africa a public health emergency of international concern. The UN health agency was concerned by the rise in cases and fatalities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the spread to Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.