Mpox: UK preparing after virus declared global emergency - as Sweden records first case --Preparations include making sure rapid testing will be available. | 15 Aug 2024 | Sweden has confirmed it has recorded its first case of a contagious new variant of mpox - a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a global health emergency. The strain, known as clade 1b, emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with more than 17,000 cases and 571 deaths in Africa this year, officials have said, which exceeds last year's total. Scientists from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention report 96% of all cases and deaths have been in DR Congo. There are currently no cases of the virus in the UK, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said, and its deputy director Dr Meera Chand claims the risk "is currently considered low." "However, planning is under way to prepare for any cases that we might see in the UK," she added.