Sweden said on Thursday it had confirmed a first case of mpox, a viral infection that spreads through close contact.

Earlier on Thursday, the World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to other countries.

"We have now also during the afternoon had confirmation that we have one case in Sweden of the more grave type of mpox, the one called Clade I," Health and Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed told a news conference.

Mpox can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with someone who is infectious, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).