The new recommendations mean that a limited number of people traveling to the affected countries may need to be vaccinated.
Most people traveling to the affected countries do not need to be vaccinated, says Magnus Gisslén.
The vaccination recommendations apply to those who are going to travel to a geographical area with ongoing transmission of mpox in the community, and who may be at increased risk of exposure to infection, according to the Public Health Agency.
Vaccination may be relevant for certain healthcare and medical personnel, aid workers, or others who will be staying in a geographical area with ongoing transmission, says Magnus Gisslén.
Vaccination may therefore be relevant where the infection control measures in the general travel recommendations are not considered sufficient.
Sufficient vaccine supply
The Public Health Agency states that only a small number of people will be affected by the new guidelines.
We have sufficient vaccine to cover those who are affected by the new recommendations, says Gisslén.
The most important measure to protect oneself against the virus if one is in an area with ongoing transmission is to avoid close physical contact, according to Gisslén.
One should avoid new sexual contacts and other close physical contacts, he says.
This applies to both heterosexual and homosexual contacts in the affected areas.
More cases expected
The variant of mpox that is now spreading in Africa, called clade 1, is believed to be both more contagious and deadlier than clade 2, whose spread took off in 2022 and which is also found in Sweden.
Last week, Sweden got its first case of the more dangerous variant, the first confirmed outside of Africa. On Thursday, Thailand got its first confirmed case of the new variant of mpox.
We can probably expect more cases in Europe, but the risk of larger transmission in Sweden and Europe is assessed as very low, says Magnus Gisslén.
Countries in Africa where transmission of mpox clade 1 is ongoing in the community:
Burundi
Central African Republic
Congo-Kinshasa
Congo-Brazzaville
In other African countries with confirmed cases of mpox clade 1, it is currently not considered to be community transmission. However, it is still important to follow the "Recommendations for travelers due to the spread of mpox" when traveling to countries in Africa where individual cases of mpox clade 1 have been confirmed.
Countries in Africa where individual cases of mpox clade 1 have been confirmed:
Cameroon
Kenya
Rwanda
Uganda
Source: Public Health Agency.
