Countries with confirmed cases of new mpox variant

(Reuters) -The World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak of the viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to neighbouring countries.

A new form of the virus, clade Ib, triggered global concern as it seems to be spreading quickly and little is known about the strain. The disease transmits through close contact.

The new strain has spread to at least two countries outside Africa.

The following are the countries that have reported cases of clade Ib mpox:

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Two strains of mpox are spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo - the endemic clade I and the new clade Ib, which spreads more easily through close contact, including sexual.

As of August 11, DRC has seen a total of 3,235 cases and 19 deaths in 2024. The country has confirmed 38 cases of mpox in the past two weeks, according to WHO data.

SWEDEN

Global health officials on August 15 confirmed an infection with a new strain of the mpox virus in Sweden, the first sign of its spread outside the African continent.

Swedish health officials said at a press conference that the person was infected while in Africa with the clade Ib type of mpox involved in the recent outbreak. The person is receiving treatment.

THAILAND

An mpox case reported in Thailand was confirmed to be of the clade Ib strain of the virus, the first in the country, a disease control official said on Aug. 22.

The case was first reported on Aug. 21, and Thailand had said it was a 66-year-old European man who had arrived from an African country where the disease was spreading.

BURUNDI

As of August 18, Burundi has 153 cases of clade Ib mpox with zero deaths. The country reported 113 cases of clade Ib mpox in the past two weeks, according to WHO data.

KENYA

On July 29, Kenya's health ministry confirmed one case of clade Ib mpox, the first-ever case of mpox identified in the country. No deaths had been reported as of August 8, according to WHO data.

RWANDA

As of August 7, four confirmed clade Ib mpox cases and zero deaths had cumulatively been reported by the country, according to WHO data.

UGANDA

As of August 18, Uganda has identified three cases of clade Ib mpox, with no deaths, according to WHO data. The cases are among the first confirmed mpox cases identified in the country.

(Reporting by Sneha S K, Sriparna Roy and Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)