A EUROPEAN country has confirmed the first case of mpox outside of Africa.
It comes as the World Health Organisation has declared a global emergency over the ultra-deadly virus strain.
2
2
Sweden’s public health agency revealed that the person became infected during a stay in an area within Africa, with the continent battling a major outbreak of mpox Clade I.
It comes just hours after the WHO declared mutant mpox a global health emergency after its rapid spread to at least 13 countries.
The highly contagious disease has already killed at least 500 people and infected 13,700 during an initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The virus – formally known as monkeypox – has spread to numerous countries in Africa and scientists are concerned about how fast a new variant of the disease is spreading and its high fatality rate.
Read More in Health News
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond “is very worrying”.
“A co-ordinated international response is essential to stop this outbreak and save lives,” he said.
Mpox is transmitted through close contact, such as sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.
There are two main types of mpox – clade 1 and clade 2.
Most read in Health
A previous mpox public health emergency, declared in 2022, was caused by the relatively mild clade 2.
However, this time it is the far more deadly clade 1 variant that is surging.
It has a fatality rate of around five per cent in adults and 10 per cent in children, compared to three per cent for its predecessor.
Meanwhile, Microbiologist, Professor Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia told Times Radio the new variant of MPox is “almost certainly” in the UK already.
When asked about the chances of the disease being in the UK already, he said: “Almost certainly. We saw with the 2022 pandemic of Mpox, with the clade 2, that once it gets into sexual networks, it can spread very rapidly around the world and it’s actually very difficult to control that spread.
“So yeah, I think it’s not surprising that we’ve had a first case in Europe, and I think we’re going to see more. I think we will undoubtedly see cases in the UK over the coming weeks.”
And he says “only time will tell” if the UK will see the same levels of mortality being seen in Africa
In April, alarm bells were raised when scientists found a new easier-to-catch strain of mpox called clade 1b which had “pandemic potential” in Kamituga, a small mining town in the DRC.
Doctor Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, from the WHO, warned: “In the past month, about 90 cases of clade 1b have been reported in four countries neighbouring the DRC that have not reported mpox before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
“But we are not dealing with one outbreak of one clade – we are dealing with several outbreaks of different clades in different countries with different modes of transmission and different levels of risk.”
WHO’S labelling of a “public health emergency of international concern” is meant to encourage member countries to begin preparing for the virus.
This could entail the sharing of vaccines and treatments with poorer nations.
Dr Josie Golding, from the Wellcome Trust, said it was a “strong signal”, while Emory University’s Dr Boghuma Titanji said the move “underscores the gravity of the crisis”.
Monkeypox is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions.
Until a few years ago most cases of it were reported in central and west Africa.
But in 2022, the WHO declared a public health emergency when the clade 2 strain triggered the global outbreak that reached over 100 countries – including the UK.
That outbreak was brought under control by vaccinating vulnerable groups.
Read More on The US Sun
Like clade 2, most new infections in the DRC appear to have been sexually transmitted.
But there have also been cases of the new bug spreading through touch alone in schools and workplaces.
I mistook monkeypox for Covid – I’ve never been in so much pain
A MAN who caught mpox in 2022 first believed he had Covid before experiencing agonising symptoms that made him fear for his life.
Harun Tulunay, a 35-year-old charity worker, experienced extreme symptoms which left him hospitalised for almost two weeks.
Harun, who lives in London, first started to display flu-like symptoms back in early June 2022, such as high fever, chills and muscle aches.
After having recently caught Covid he was “convinced” he had had the virus again, he told The Sun. “But every test I did came back negative.”
A few days later, the charity worker developed a red and white rash on his body that resembled an allergic reaction, which he said was “nothing like the monkeypox pictures you see online”.
It wasn’t until a few days later that he also noticed a painless spot on his nose which he assumed was a mosquito-like bite or pimple.
Harun works in sexual health so is well versed in monkeypox and its symptoms, but he had never seen his rash or spot associated with the disease and so didn’t think he could have it.
A few days later, Harun’s health took a turn for the worse as his fever reached 40C. “No amount of painkillers would ease the pain,” he said.
It was at this point that Harun developed swollen tonsils and a very sore throat.
“I couldn’t breathe, swallow or speak,” he said.
“I vividly remember calling up the hospital and crying in pain.”
Harun was finally referred to the hospital where he was put into isolation.
His test confirmed he had monkeypox, and only then did lesions often associated with monkeypox begin to appear on his hands, legs, and feet.
“My throat was covered,” he said, explaining that the lesion on his nose was bigger and had become infected.
“I was scared I would die alone in my hospital room,” he said. “I’d never been in so much pain in my life.”
“I remember looking at a water bottle and crying because I couldn’t drink it,” he added.
Harun has now made a full recovery.
