World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday urged the countries affected by the Mpox (monkeypox) outbreak to work together to tackle the situation and called on all nations to address it. The development comes a day after Sweden confirmed the first case of a more contagious mpox variant outside Africa. 

Ghebreyesus took to X and emphasised over the need for "enhanced surveillance, data sharing, and collaboration" to curb the transmission of the virus.

"Identification of the first #mpox clade 1b infection in Sweden underscores the need for affected countries to tackle the virus together," the WHO director-general wrote. We encourage all countries to enhance surveillance, share data, and work to better understand the transmission; share tools like vaccines; and apply lessons learned from prior public health emergencies of international concern in addressing the current outbreak," he added.