Explained: Why mpox is sparking global concern again
Africa but now reported outside the continent. While Mpox spreads more slowly than the novel coronavirus, it can still be lethal, depending on the strain.
Cases detected in Sweden, Pakistan
Sweden said a person who had got back from Africa has tested positive for mpox. The case was identified a day after World Health Organization (WHO) declared the latest outbreak of the disease as a public health emergency of international concern and warned that Europe could see more imported cases.
On Friday, Pakistan became the second country outside Africa to report a positive case. The patient had returned from a Gulf country. Pakistani health authorities said tests were underway to determine the variant involved.
With a more lethal strain around
The recent outbreak features a new variant named 'clade Ib', a derivative of clade I, which is native to Congo in Africa.
Swedish authorities said clade Ib is spreading primarily through household contacts and frequently infects children. Clade IIb, which had prompted the previous WHO global warning in 2022, spread mainly through sexual contact. The July 2022 outbreak affected nearly 100,000 people, primarily gay and bisexual men, in 116 countries and killed about 200 people. India had reported 27 cases and one death.
While clade Ib causes a similar illness to clade IIb, it is considered capable of spreading faster and killing more people. Clade II, which originates in West Africa, has a fatality rate of up to 1% (roughly one in 100 are expected to die from it), but reports say
