The Swedish Government’s efforts to fight mpox
Published
On 14 August 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. The Swedish Government is closely following developments and coordinating with responsible authorities. More information about how the Government is handling mpox is provided below.
A number of African countries are affected, and with the extensive spread and consequences of mpox, the situation is critical – particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
On 15 August 2024, the first case of the more serious variant of mpox – clade I – was confirmed in Sweden.
Mpox is a serious disease, but it is neither new nor unknown, and an existing vaccine provides good protection against mpox. Medicine is also available and recommended as treatment in cases of serious illness.
The Government Offices has frequent consultations with responsible authorities, such as the Public Health Agency of Sweden, and is following developments domestically and internationally. The aim is to enable the Government to act swiftly if measures need to be taken and reprioritise resources if necessary.
The Government has already taken a number of measures to stop the spread of mpox, such as tasking the Public Health Agency with ensuring access to vaccines and updating the national plan for vaccination against mpox.
Questions and answers
The Public Health Agency has the overall national responsibility for the population’s protection against communicable diseases and coordinates communicable disease control at national level. The Agency also issues rules, recommendations and guidance for health care staff to ensure effective communicable disease control efforts.
The Public Health Agency’s areas of responsibility include vaccinations, contingency planning for communicable disease outbreaks and national contingency reserves of pharmaceuticals against communicable diseases. The Agency coordinates protection against communicable diseases at national level and promotes development of resistance and reduced spread of infection.
The Government considers it very important to work together with other countries to stop the spread of infection in global health threats. It works via organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the EU to provide assistance in locations where diseases affect people – and children in particular.
Sweden provides substantial core support to international health actors that are currently working actively to combat the spread of mpox infection. In 2024, Sweden is providing more than SEK 1.3 billion to the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi, UNICEF and other actors that can take direct action to enhance affected countries’ ability to prevent and manage the outbreak. These actors’ efforts encompass vaccine production funding and procuring, purchasing and carrying out vaccinations.
Sweden is in continuous dialogue with international partners to assist in knowledge and information exchange in the efforts to combat mpox.
Current crisis information from Swedish authorities is compiled on the Krisinformation.se webpage, where you can also find the latest information on mpox and how the disease is being managed in Sweden.
Krisinformation.se (in English)
More in-depth information about the disease is available on the Public Health Agency of Sweden’s website. The Agency has published questions and answers about mpox (for the general public) and vaccination (targeting health care staff).
Disease information about mpox
Questions and answers about mpox
Questions and answers about vaccination against mpox (in Swedish only)
Contact
Phone (switchboard) +46 8 405 10 00
Fax +46 8 723 11 91
email to Senior Registry Clerk, Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, via senior registry clerk
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