Mpox: Europe hit by clade 1b variant

In August 2024, the WHO declared Mpox in Africa a global health emergency. European health authorities warned that cases would probably also be found in Europe, although the risk to the general population would remain low. Outside of Africa, the new strain has been identified in six European countries. In Ireland, a case involving a person who had recently returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was reported, and the individual was hospitalised in Dublin. In the UK, most of the nine cases are linked to international travel, with the most recent case involving a person returning from Uganda. In response to these developments, the UK government procured more than 150,000 doses of smallpox vaccine in September as a precautionary measure. Germany reported seven cases of Mpox Clade 1b between late December 2024 and January 2025, with cases involving individuals who had travelled to an area affected by the epidemic and subsequently infected family members, with no further spread outside the family. Sweden’s initial case, reported in August 2024, marked the first occurrence of Mpox in a country outside Africa. This individual resided in a region of Africa where Clade 1b of Mpox is endemic, and, notably, Sweden’s sole recorded case stands as the only instance of Mpox within the Scandinavian nation. No cases of Mpox have been reported in Italy to date.