First case of Africa's new Mpox strain recorded in Sweden

21 Aug 2024 |

Mario Tama / Getty Images via AFP)

A man from Sweden who travelled to Africa has become the first European to test positive for the new deadly strain of the Mpox disease called Clade 1 B.

Africa Centres for Disease Control (CSC) and Prevention says it's in the final stages of procuring millions of Mpox vaccines following a spike in infections.

Last week the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mpox a global emergency due to its rapid spread throughout the African continent.

Meanwhile, France will donate 100,000 Mpox vaccine doses to countries suffering from the emergency, as it readies vaccination centres at home

Attal said France would donate the vaccines through the European Union.

The WHO has declared the surge of Mpox cases in Africa to be an international health emergency. The United States has said it will donate 50,000 mpox vaccine doses to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UN health agency has called for a major increase in vaccine production and said that a vaccination campaign must be a key priority for affected countries.

Last week, the health agency of the African Union said some 200,000 vaccines would be deployed across Africa, thanks to agreements with the EU and Danish drug company Bavarian Nordic, whose vaccine was approved in 2019.

Some 232 vaccination sites are in place in case of an eventual outbreak in France, Attal posted on the X social media platform.

"We aim to be ready to face all scenarios and all risks," he said.

No Mpox cases have yet been reported in France.

The virus has swept across the DRC, killing more than 570 people so far this year, the government said Monday.