The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that more cases are likely to appear in Europe.
– It is likely that there will be more imported cases in Europe in the coming days and weeks, says WHO’s European regional office in a statement.
Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed stated on Thursday that the relevant Swedish case has been detected in the Stockholm region.
In that case, it is the first case of the new variant to be discovered in the Nordic region – and the first case to be discovered outside of Africa.
International health crisis
The World Health Organization on Wednesday classified the outbreak of mpox in Africa as an international health crisis.
The variant that is now spreading is probably even more contagious than an earlier variant that spread in 2022, also to Sweden.
The new variant can be spread more easily by close contact and not like the previous variant, which was primarily infected by sexual contact.
The virus can be transmitted from mother to child and is suspected to have caused a large number of miscarriages and stillbirths.
The person in Sweden who has been diagnosed with mpox has been in an area in Africa where there is a large outbreak.
Can produce 10 million doses
On Thursday afternoon, the Danish vaccine manufacturer Bavarian Nordic stated that they will produce 10 million doses of vaccines against the new mpox variant by 2025.
The company says it is awaiting orders from the relevant countries before production starts.
– We have to see the contracts, says the vice-president of Bavarian Nordic to AFP and adds that the laboratory now has around 500,000 doses in stock.
The Gavi Foundation will help affected countries
International vaccine group Gavi says it will spend $500 million on doses for countries affected by the mpox outbreak, CEO Sania Nishtar told Reuters.
The Gavi Foundation helps countries with fewer resources buy and distribute vaccines, usually childhood vaccines against diseases such as measles, but they expanded to a broader effort during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funds are largely left over from money donated in connection with COVID-19.
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2024-08-15 20:07:46
