Mpox: First case of contagious variant outside Africa reported

A contagious variant of mpox disease has been reported for the first time outside Africa, in Sweden. The World Health Organisation has now declared it an emergency outbreak.

The disease – previously known as monkeypox – has been largely contained in the Democratic Republic of Congo where it’s endemic.  It now appears to have spread through Eastern Africa and into Scandinavia.

A warning: this report contains some distressing images.