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https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/15/mpox-variant-clade-i-case-sweden>
"Sweden confirmed its first case of the more contagious variant of mpox, a
viral infection that spreads through close contact, marking the first time it
has been found outside Africa.
The person was infected while in a part of Africa where there was a large
outbreak of the disease, Olivia Wigzell, director-general at the Swedish public
health agency, told a press conference.
Earlier on Thursday, the World Health Organization declared mpox a global
public health emergency for the second time in two years, after an outbreak in
Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to other countries.
Wigzell said the person who had been infected had received care and
instructions in line with the health agency’s recommendations.
China announced Friday it would begin screening people and goods entering the
country for mpox over the next six months.
People travelling from countries where virus outbreaks have occurred, who have
been in contact with mpox cases or display symptoms should “take the initiative
to declare to customs when entering the country”, China’s customs
administration said in a statement.
Vehicles, containers and items from areas with mpox cases should also be
sanitised, the statement added.
Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of the
deadlier form of mpox, which can kill up to 10% of those infected, in a
Congolese mining town and warned that it might spread more easily. Mpox mostly
spreads via close contact with infected people, including through sex.
WHO said there have been more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in more than a
dozen countries across Africa this year, which already exceed last year’s
figures."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
