The Public Health Authority issues recommendations regarding the spread of mpox.
– Mpox is a universally dangerous disease and it is therefore important that you seek care if you have symptoms. The Public Health Agency is continuously monitoring the situation and these recommendations may change at short notice, says Magnus Gisslén, state epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency.
The recommendations apply to travelers to Sweden who have been in an area with ongoing spread of mpox and for those traveling to an area where the spread of infection is ongoing.
Recommendations for entry
For those traveling into Sweden, one must be “attuned to clear symptoms of mpox, such as painful blisters and sores. Watch for symptoms for three weeks after you get home”. If you get any clear symptoms, you are asked to contact healthcare.
If you have had close contact with a person who has mpox, or is suspected of having it, you should also contact healthcare – regardless of whether you have symptoms or not and regardless of where you have traveled.
– By “close contact” is meant, for example, that you lived together with someone for a time. But sexual contacts also count here, says Magnus Gisslén, state epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency.
FHM: Avoid new sexual contacts if there is spread
If you are going to travel abroad, the Public Health Agency urges people who are going to travel abroad to find out if there is an ongoing spread of infection in the area you are traveling to. If there is spread, you are asked to avoid close contacts, especially new sexual ones.
Should you get clear symptoms such as painful blisters and sores, you should contact healthcare.
According to the recommendations, one must also investigate whether one is covered by the Public Health Agency’s recommendations for vaccination against mpox.
Facts: Mpox
Mpox, previously called monkeypox, is a viral disease. During the spring of 2022, an unusually high number of cases were discovered in several countries. Transmission of the virus then took place above all via sexual contacts between men who have sex with men. That variant is called clade 2.
The variant of mpox that is now spreading mainly in Africa, called clade 1, is believed to be both more contagious and more deadly than the clade 2 variant.
Mpox often causes rashes, sores and blisters on the trunk, arms, legs, hands and feet, as well as on the face, and also fever. The symptoms have often been mild but can become serious in people in risk groups.
The disease usually heals on its own within two to four weeks, but can be more severe in those with weakened immune systems. Children and young people are also considered to have a greater risk of becoming seriously ill.
Source: FHM