Pakistan’s health department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Friday that three cases of monkeypox (mopx) have been detected in the country.

Three cases of monkeypox virus were detected among travelers who recently arrived in Pakistan, Reuters quoted the health department as saying in a statement.

In Sweden, the World Health Organization (WHO) affirmed that a viral infection causing monkeypox in that country is linked to the outbreak of the disease in Africa, in the first sign of the virus spreading outside the continent.

Swedish health officials said in a conference that the person had been infected with the Clade Ib virus that causes monkeypox while he was in Africa, and the infection comes under the latest outbreak of the disease.

The Clade Ib virus responsible for the current outbreak is believed to cause a more severe form of monkeypox, and the virus is spread by close contact.

The WHO recently declared the disease a global public health emergency after detecting an outbreak of a new strain of the virus.