
On 15 August 2024, Sweden became the first country outside the African continent to confirm mpox clade Ib in an individual with travel history to central Africa. The confirmation of the case came just one day after WHO’s Director-General declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) for the second time in 2 years, following an upsurge in new and concerning cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo and several neighbouring countries, including the emergence of a new strain – called clade Ib – which appears to be more severe than clade II, which has been circulating in the WHO European Region for some time.