It was only on Wednesday 14 August that an international health emergency was declared following the outbreak of monkeypox (Mpox) in Africa. On Thursday 15 August, the Swedish Public Health Agency announced that it had recorded the first case outside Africa of the most dangerous variant of the Monkeypox virus: Clade 1b. However, Swedish Health Minister Jakob Forssmed called for calm: “I think the situation is serious, but there is no reason to be alarmed”. Infectious disease specialist Matteo Bassetti, atHandlegoes in the same direction: “Without causing alarmism. We must raise awareness throughout the world. This is no longer a problem of the People's Republic of Congo.”
The first case in the EU
“A person has been diagnosed with the disease caused by the Clade 1 variant in Stockholm. This is the first case caused by the Clade 1 variant to be diagnosed outside the African continent,” the Swedish Public Health Agency reported in a statement. However, the first appearance of the Monkeypox virus on European territory should not generate hysteria, as Forssmed itself tries to illustrate: “The risk of infection is low. We are well prepared and the health services have good procedures in place. It is a known disease. There are vaccines and we have them in stock.”
Bassetti: “The main victims today are the minors”
In a post on Instagram on Thursday 15 August, Matteo Bassetti, director of the infectious diseases department of the San Martino Polyclinic Hospital in Genoa, had invited his community to reflect on the spread of the Monkeypox (Mpox) virus: “Fifteen months after the end of the emergency situation of which it was the protagonist, monkeypox – now renamed Mpox – is once again causing fear. The infectiologist then clarified what was new in the aggressiveness of the virus, variant 1b: “We are talking about about 15 thousand cases on the African continent since the beginning of the year and 461 deaths”. Monkeypox is currently causing concern due to the young age of the victims: “According to data published by the WHO, 39% of cases and 62% of deaths reported since the beginning of the year until May in the Democratic Republic of Congo. concern children under 5 years of age. 20% of those who died were under one year old, and in hospitals, Save the Children reports, even newborns as young as two weeks old are being hospitalized because of the disease.” Then the overview already made on Thursday, August 15: “The virus shows that it is capable of crossing the borders of the countries where it has been described most often and of settling in areas where it was not present until today. It is therefore an infectious disease that is difficult to contain. There may be cases of importation linked to travel, including in our country. We must organize ourselves quickly with all the therapeutic and prophylactic measures to avoid a global spread.”
Infectious disease specialist: “We will talk about the case of Sweden. Without causing alarmism”
Reached byHandleBassetti intervened to comment on the discovery of the arrival of monkeypox in Europe: “Now, with the case in Sweden, we are going to talk about this situation. Without causing alarmism but seriously preparing for the problem.” We are not unprepared, the infectiologist specifies: “The tests are there, the same ones already used in 2022 when the disease arrived. The target changes but we are equipped. We have already encountered it.” Even if he recognizes that “today the clinical manifestations are different, the disease is more serious and more virulent and for this reason we must be careful and make an early diagnosis.” The director of San Martino in Genoa then called for greater attention: “With this Clade1 variant, the epidemiology of monkeypox has changed. Previously it referred to the people most at risk, now it concerns target much broader. The spectrum of this disease is expanding to other issues. We need to raise awareness around the world. This is no longer a problem of the People's Republic of Congo.”
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