The Swedish Public Health Agency announced on Thursday, August 15, 2024, the detection of the first case of monkeypox outside Africa caused by the new strain, which the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency on Wednesday.

The agency stated in a press release that "a person requiring care" in Stockholm "was diagnosed with monkeypox caused by strain 1. This is the first case caused by strain 1 to be diagnosed outside the African continent."

Monkeypox has claimed the lives of 548 individuals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since the beginning of the year, and it is now prevalent in all of its provinces, according to Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kambaya on Thursday.

The latest report indicates the country has recorded "15,664 suspected cases and 548 deaths since the beginning of the year."

On August 3, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 455 deaths and 14,479 cases in 25 of the country's 26 provinces.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Public Health and Population in the internationally recognized Yemeni government, Qasim Buhaibah, met on Thursday with the WHO representative in Yemen, Dr. Arturo Bisigan, to discuss a number of health-related issues and areas of coordination and joint work between the ministry and the organization, aiming for improvement.

According to the official Yemeni news agency Saba, the meeting addressed "the importance of the health sector's preparedness for various health emergencies, including the declaration of monkeypox as a global emergency due to its spread in Africa, strengthening health facilities, providing testing solutions for this disease in central laboratories, and enhancing surveillance, awareness, and knowledge about it."

On Wednesday, the WHO declared the monkeypox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency, its highest level of alert.

"Today, the Emergency Committee met and advised me that, in their view, the event constitutes a public health emergency of international concern," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference. "I have accepted this advice."

"This is something that should concern us all," he said. "WHO is committed to coordinating the international response in the days and weeks ahead, working closely with affected countries, mobilizing on the ground to prevent further transmission, treat those affected, and save lives."

The decision came after the African Union's health body declared a public health emergency on Tuesday due to the monkeypox (Mpox) outbreak on the continent.

The disease has been prevalent in the DRC, where the virus was first discovered in humans in 1970, and has spread to other countries.

Tedros noted that the number of cases, exceeding 14,000, and the deaths (524) recorded so far this year in the DRC surpass the total recorded last year.

He said at the beginning of the Emergency Committee meeting that "the emergence and rapid spread of the 1b strain (of the virus) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which appears to be spreading particularly through sexual networks, and its detection in countries neighboring the Democratic Republic of Congo is very concerning and among the main reasons behind my decision to convene this Emergency Committee meeting."

He added that "over the past month, about 90 cases of strain 1b have been reported in four countries neighboring the Democratic Republic of Congo that have not reported Mpox cases in the past, namely Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda."