At least two countries outside of Africa have reported mpox cases after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the virus had become a “public health emergency” earlier this week.
A relatively new strain of the virus known as clade 1 has been spreading in African countries since 2022.
Earlier this year, it was reported that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was experiencing the biggest outbreak of the disease ever recorded, with tens of thousands of people infected as of June. The government of DRC had declared it an epidemic in December 2022.
Last week, the Africa CDC reported that mpox has now been detected in at least 13 African countries. Compared with the same period last year, the agency said cases are up 160 percent and deaths have increased by 19 percent.
Here is what we know so far about where the disease has spread, how it affects the human body and how to protect yourself from infection.
The Pakistan Ministry of National Health Services confirmed its first case of the virus on Friday, saying the person had come from Saudi Arabia.
Health officials said sequencing is underway to determine the exact strain of the virus the person had been infected with.
On Thursday, Swedish health officials reported the country’s first case of mpox, confirming that it was the clade 1 strain, and said the person had become infected in Africa and is now receiving treatment.
Clade 1 tends to cause a higher number of severe infections and appears to be more easily spread through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
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