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Experts expect more cases to surface in European countries because of frequent travel to and from Africa, with the threat of contracting the disease raised from “very low” to “low.”
By Lynsey ChutelJenny Gross and Christina Anderson
Lynsey Chutel reported from London, Jenny Gross from Brussels and Christina Anderson from Geilo, Norway.
Aug. 16, 2024, 4:26 p.m. ET
The announcement that a new version of mpox had been discovered in Sweden this week was the first indication that the disease had slipped out of Africa, where it has caused an escalating crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The announcement on Thursday about the disease formerly known as monkeypox came just a day after the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency, and it confirmed fears that a further spread was inevitable.
The person with the disease in Sweden had traveled to an area affected by the disease.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said it is “highly likely” that more imported cases would be confirmed, in large part because of frequent travel between Europe and Africa. The center advised member countries to increase preparedness and to issue travel advisories recommending that people traveling to affected areas see if they are eligible for vaccination.
Pamela Rendi-Wagner, the E.C.D.C. director, warned that as long as the outbreak in Africa was not under control, cases would continue to appear in Europe and North America too.
“We have to be concerned, even outside Africa, because with the increasing number and the fast spread, the likelihood of the introduction of cases in Europe and the U.S. will increase,” Dr. Rendi-Wagner said in an interview on Friday.
The E.C.D.C. on Friday raised the risk of people in the European Union contracting the new version from “very low” to “low,” but emphasized that people traveling to and from the affected areas in Africa need to take precautions and are at a high risk.
